Phantasm
by the-aether-ascension
Summary: Seeking answers for the unsolved mysteries of her past, Kara Grayson finds herself in Beacon Hills. She strikes a deal with the protectors of this seemingly quiet town to help them prepare for the supernatural storm brewing ahead, not realising that she may just get more than she bargained for. Season 3 onwards. Derek/OC
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

Kara Grayson believed that there were four main events in her whirlwind of a life that had thrown her into the current situation. She came to this conclusion as she drove along the highway, furiously wiping tears from her cheeks and wondering how on Earth this had all started with a book.

 _Ella Grayson had seen the book standing proudly in the window of a bookstore and immediately pictured Kara, curled up in a chair at home, silently mouthing the words to her favourite picture book. Her eight-year-old daughter was always engrossed in reading, so who was she to deny her another chance to dig deeper into the world of words? So Ella bought it, carrying both the book and a smile on her face all the way home._

This was the start of four terrible events.

Every Sunday afternoon the Grayson's (consisting of Kara, Ella and Asher Grayson, Kara's brother) would do something together as a family. Typically it would be a picnic, but the location changed frequently. On one particular Sunday, Ella packed a picnic basket full of food for them to take on their picnic in the park. Kara took her new book along and read while her brother walked further into the woods, predictably looking for a suitable tree to climb.

" _Kara! Come and see what I found!" Asher had yelled, coaxing Kara from the clearing where their picnic rug was set up. He pulled his sister along, the book still held by her small hands. Ella watched her children laugh and play with a content smile. Asher showed his sister the tree he had found, perfect for climbing. Kara dropped her book and scampered up the tree, soon followed by her brother. They invented games and climbed trees for hours before Ella decided to call it a day. With happy smiles on their faces, they packed up the picnic and left the woods, Kara's book long forgotten._

Kara gripped her steering wheel a little tighter and gritted her teeth, knowing what came next. She hated that the memory of this beautiful day was tainted with disaster. Hated that of every memory that she lost due to growing older, this was the one that stuck with her and replayed in her mind at night when she couldn't sleep. Hated that what came next was all her fault.

 _The goddamn book had been lying on the leaf covered ground, forgotten, for at least an hour before Kara realised what she was missing. She instantly began to cry, convinced that it was lost forever. Once she had calmed down enough to speak, she told Ella of her missing book. Ella glanced up at the sky, worriedly watching it slowly get darker. She didn't really want to go back and search for the book in the fading light, but her daughter was so distraught that she couldn't bear to say no. Ella smiled kindly to her daughter, completely unaware that it would be the last time she smiled. At least for a while._

 _So they set off to search for Kara's beloved book, oblivious to the vicious creature that lurked in the trees._

" _I-I think I found it!" Asher called out to his mother, waving the book around in triumph. Thank god, Ella thought, glancing up at the close-to-pitch-black sky. They had been searching for at least an hour and in that time the temperature had dropped dramatically. Ella shivered and pulled her cardigan tighter around her body._

" _Kara, honey, Asher found your book," she informed her daughter. Kara didn't walk over to her mother and grab her hand like she wanted to, but instead became preoccupied with staring at something prowling behind the trees just in front of her. Something that stared back._

 _The something that hid behind the trees suddenly stepped forward, into Kara's line of sight. In the dark, she could only see the silhouette of the beast that advanced towards her and she was almost glad it was too dark to see properly. Kara stared up at the monster with red eyes and her mouth opened in a silent scream, eyes wide with terror._

" _Mum!" Asher shouted, looking frantically at his sister. Although Asher had shouted, Ella had heard it as a whisper, a distant echo of the panic that flowed through her now. All she could hear as she watched the dark, hulking figure tower over her daughter was the blood rushing in her ears and her heart pounding against her rib cage. A growl emanated from the beast and Kara's scream was all it took to snap Ella out of her fear-induced trance. She ran towards Kara, pushing her behind her outstretched arms. The beast raised a clawed hand and Kara peaked out from behind her mother's body, gripping tightly onto Ella's waist, as if that could save her from the beast's claws._

 _The beast struck them both down with a powerful blow and Kara cried out as she fell with her mother, landing hard on the ground. Pain erupted in her skull and she weakly lifted her head to see her mother get up. She distantly registered a piercing pain somewhere on her lower torso and moaned in pain._

 _"Mummy," Kara mumbled before her head became too heavy to hold up, so she let it drop back down to the ground again. She watched her mother through half-lidded eyes, frowning in her semi-conscious state as Ella thrust out her hands in front of her and sent the beast flying with a supernatural force._

Kara ran a hand through her hair, lazily flipping it over to one side. She kept her eyes focused on the road and felt them droop ever so slightly. They were becoming heavy with sleep and Kara knew that meant she had to take a break from driving soon.

That was one of the few parts of that the night that Kara still didn't get. Almost everything else that happened that night had eventually been explained to her, but this went over her head. How had her mother done that? How had Ella fought back with so much force against this vicious beast? Kara had to keep reminding herself of what the monster actually was, of what her mother said it was. Because if she didn't keep telling herself that _werewolves are real,_ she wouldn't survive a day in this new world she had been introduced to.

The world of the supernatural.

 _Kara slowly blinked her eyes open, disorientated for a minute. Pain on the side of her stomach drew her attention to three bleeding claw marks just above her hip bone. She looked to her right with wide eyes and saw her mother slumped against the side of the car, groaning and holding her left arm gingerly. Asher was driving the car and kept throwing glances behind him, as if he were scared Kara and Ella would suddenly disappear. It didn't seem so impossible now after what they'd just witnessed._

 _Asher wasn't technically allowed to be driving yet, so his lack of experience and nerves were making the drive home less than pleasant. Every time he swerved Ella and Kara were jostled into either side of the car. It didn't take long to get home and in that time Kara's eyes never left her mother. They still didn't, even as Asher helped Ella hobble through the doorway and into the kitchen. Kara trudged after them, holding her side and sniffling. Her head throbbed with a powerful headache and her tears only made it worse._

 _She followed the sounds of her mother's groans into the kitchen and gasped at the sight of a large bite mark on her arm. Blood was oozing steadily from the wound and Asher was frantically searching through the kitchen cupboards for bandages._

" _Kara, go get some toilet paper. Quick!" He ordered her. Kara obeyed, hurriedly grabbing toilet paper from the bathroom and returning to the kitchen. Asher grabbed it from her and pressed it to Ella's wound. He wadded up some toilet paper into a ball and placed it against the claw marks on Kara's stomach. Blood seeped steadily through the paper._

" _We need to go to the hospital or-or something. We need to get you help," Asher begged for Ella to comply with his request. But she only shook her head and replaced his hand on the toilet paper with her own._

" _That's not a good idea," she mumbled._

Kara spotted the _Welcome to Beacon Hills_ sign and sighed with relief. She would stop and get some rest soon, and close her heavy eyes…

 _Asher found a roll of white dressing and began wrapping it around Ella's bicep, then replaced the toilet paper on Kara's torso with the dressing. Ella winced every so often, then caught her daughter staring with tear filled eyes._

" _You should go to bed honey," Ella said softly, after the dressing was securely taped to Kara's wound. "Asher will come and tuck you in soon,"_

 _Nodding mutely, Kara walked up the stairs to her room and crawled into her bed. She ignored her pyjamas that sat draped over the desk chair and grabbed her teddy, holding him tightly against her. Asher came into her room after he helped Ella get into her own bed, eyelids weighed down with images of things sixteen-year-olds shouldn't have to see, let alone eight-year-olds._

 _They were just kids, after all._

 _Asher's heart gave a painful lurch at the sight of Kara curled up on her bed with tears in her eyes._

" _Hey," he said, crouching down so that he was at eye level with her._

" _Is mum going to be okay?"_

 _Asher hesitated._

" _Mum is going to be just fine, kid,"_

 _There was silence for a bit, then Kara looked up at her brother through her lashes._

" _Am I gonna be okay?"_

Tears filled Kara's eyes then, as if she were eight and sitting in the kitchen watching Asher wrap a bandage around her mum's wound. She inhaled a shaky breath and blinked back tears. God, she was crying already. It hadn't even been a week since she'd left her town and she missed it already. How was she supposed to last the rest of her life without it?

The truth was, there was no home left for her. It was probably a pile of ashes by now. The thought made tears spill over her eyes and run down her cheeks. A choked sob escaped her, followed by another one, and another. By now she was sobbing freely, tears clouding her vision, which was why she nearly missed seeing the deer that seemingly came out of nowhere. Kara swerved to avoid hitting the animal and in turn panicked, hitting the brakes. Hard.

Her body lurched forward with incredible force and her head slammed into her steering wheel. Gasping, her body flattened back against the seat. Kara's head exploded with pain and she whimpered, delicately reaching up to touch the sore spot on her head. Her finger came away red with blood, making Kara's eyes widen and her vision spin with dizziness.

She peered outside with her untrustworthy eyesight and opened her door. Stumbling out of the car, Kara could see what looked to be a police station on the other side of the road. Finally, a bit of luck.

 _Just need to find him,_ Kara thought. _Need to…need to find…_

She ambled across the road, tripping occasionally, and came to a stop outside of the police station. Things were getting much harder see now—fuzzier, more…disorientating. Kara found the door handle and clumsily fell through the door, head pounding. She gritted her teeth and found her way over to the receptionist, who was staring at her in shock.

"Miss? Are you ok?"

"I have to find…need to find…." Kara started, before she collapsed on the cold floor. She began shivering like her life depended on it and the receptionist rushed to help her. With every last ounce of strength she had Kara gripped the lady's wrist, forcing out the words before the black spots appearing in front of her eyes overtook her vision.

"I need to find Derek Hale."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Scott McCall frowned at the girl lying on the hospital bed. His eyebrows felt like they had been permanently pulled together since walking into the room. Everyone who had been involved with the mysterious girl were furrowing their brows and wondering who the hell she was, just like him. Her long, fair hair was spread out over the pillow like a golden halo, making her face seem pale and pinched. She looked exhausted.

"They found her car across the road from the station. Looks like she swerved off the road," Sheriff Stilinski informed Scott and his mother, Melissa.

"That's probably how she sustained her head injury. It's only minor, though, so she should be up to questions fairly soon," Melissa added, catching the worried look that passed across the Sheriff's face. She glanced at Scott with hesitation in her eyes. She needed to tell him something, but not with the Sheriff there to listen.

"I've tried to find a connection between this girl and Derek Hale but so far we've come up empty. She isn't on the records and her car is still to be searched for some sort of ID. It's almost like she doesn't exist," The Sheriff explained, tiredly rubbing his face with a hand. This girl had him running up the walls with frustration. Where had she come from?

Melissa looked at her son again and then turned to the Sheriff.

"I'll let you know when she wakes up. It shouldn't be too long."

Sheriff Stilinski nodded at the nurse and then stepped outside, closing the door behind him. Melissa grabbed her son's arm and gave him a meaningful look.

"What does she want with Derek?" Scott asked. Melissa shook her head.

"That's why I called you. I think there's something you need to see."

She walked over to the girl and carefully lifted up her shirt, revealing three impressive scars. Scott looked up at his mother with widened eyes.

"It looks like…."

"I know."

Scott studied the scars closely. _Claw marks,_ he realised.

"Either she got attacked by a large dog or…."

"She was attacked by a werewolf."

A sudden intake of breath alerted them that the girl was finally awake. She stared at the strangers leaning over her, alarmed. "What are you doing?" Kara meant for it to sound demanding but her voice was hoarse and weak. Melissa quickly dropped her shirt down and handed Kara the cup of water that sat on the table next to her. She took the much-needed drink of water and attempted to sit up.

"I'm Melissa McCall and this is my son, Scott. You're at Beacon Hills Hospital," She told Kara, glancing over at Scott. Kara's eyes moved over to find Scott standing at the edge of her bed, gazing at her intently. She felt afraid all of a sudden, small and intimidated lying in the hospital bed without a clue how she got there. Something was wrong. Something was very, very wrong.

A strong wave of unknown power emanated from the girl and washed over Scott, the force of it sending him reeling backward. He regained his balance and stared at the girl.

"I-I'm sorry. I don't know how that happened," Kara apologised profusely, wringing her hands with nervousness. The unexpected memory of her mother pushing back against the werewolf when it attacked engulfed her. She hadn't used her hands but yet managed to send the werewolf flying. What if that was what just happened now?

Slightly taken aback, Melissa glanced at her son to make sure he was okay, then turned to the blonde haired girl. "Can you tell me your name sweetheart?"

Kara hesitated. She didn't know these people and she had learnt to be wary of her surroundings. Especially if they were unfamiliar, which this place definitely was.

Kara saw something in the nurse's eyes then that made her want to spill everything that had ever happened to her. Was it concern in her eyes? Or maybe just a longing for the answer? Kara guessed it was both. She was a good judge of character, especially when it came to reading emotions. Years of deciphering whether or not her mother was about to lash out her by looking at her eyes had taught Kara to always be on high alert, ready for anything.

But the kindness in Melissa's voice told her that these people could be trusted.

"It's Kara," She cleared her throat purposefully. "Kara Grayson."

By this point, Scott was bursting with million different questions, but he decided that this one was the most important.

"Why are you looking for Derek Hale?" he asked. Kara inhaled sharply.

"How do you know I'm looking for him?" she fired back, sounding a little stronger than when she first spoke. It dawned on her then, what she had said at the police station. _Stupid, stupid thing to do._ Her main goal was to stay under the radar while she took care of some business and not attract any attention to herself.

"I need his help," Kara said simply.

"With what?"

Kara didn't reply. What was she supposed to say? _See, I know about Derek's little wolf problem and since I have one of my own I was hoping we could work something out._ Yeah, not happening.

Scott wracked his brain for a way to get her to talk. It was clear that Kara wouldn't spill her secrets anytime soon, at least not without a sign. _A sign._ Scott would be taking a huge risk here but he got the strong feeling that she knew about the supernatural. Kara had an aura about her that he could sense. It was powerful and intense, like something otherworldly.

With the risks in mind, Scott lowered his head and felt his eyes shift from brown to a brilliant yellow. He then looked up to face Kara, waiting for her reaction. She stared at him for a while, struggling to keep her face neutral while she organised her thoughts.

When Kara first made the decision to seek out Derek Hale she didn't think about any other werewolves that resided in Beacon Hills. _Of course,_ she thought. _Since Derek is an alpha he would have his pack._

Kara had good intentions, but Derek didn't know that. If things got out of hand Kara knew she could take down one werewolf, but a whole pack of them?

If it came to that then she didn't stand a chance.

"You're one of them," she said flatly. Scott raised his eyebrows.

"So you know?"

Kara scoffed quietly. _Obviously._

"Is that why you need Derek's help?" Scott asked. Kara opened her mouth to reply with something vague but voices outside of the room drew her attention to the officer standing in the hallway.

"Crap," she muttered. "Please tell me he isn't here for me."

Scott and Melissa shared a look.

"The Sheriff just wants to ask you a few questions. They found your car on the side of the road," Melissa said quickly, seeing the fight or flight instinct in the blonde's eyes.

Kara turned her focus to Scott. If she was going to get Derek's help, she needed someone with connections and influence on her side before she faced the pack. Someone like Scott.

* * *

Stepping outside of the hospital was like walking straight into the path of a tornado. Great gusts of wind ripped through the air, making Kara feel unsteady on her feet. She was still a little shaky from the minor accident last night, even though the cut on her head had been stitched up while she was asleep and any belief of a concussion had been squashed by a quick scan.

Kara wrapped the cardigan Melissa gave her tighter around her body and followed Scott through the parking lot.

"Where exactly are we going?" she huffed, struggling to keep up with Scott's long strides. With some help from Scott's mum they had managed to give Sheriff Stilinski the slip so that Kara could explain to him why she needed to see Derek.

"We are going to talk to Derek. And the pack," Scott added. Kara's eyes widened. She wasn't ready. She hadn't figured out what to say yet or how to convince them. _Convince them that she was on their side._

It had been different with Scott. He had listened intently to her story and it had been so easy to talk to him. Kara could tell he had a kind soul that went to great lengths to protect people, even strangers. That was why it hadn't been difficult to talk.

"What?" Kara spluttered. Scott turned to look at her, frowning.

"I thought this was why you came to Beacon Hills."

Kara bit her lip and came to a standstill, crossing her arms.

"I guess I just thought I would have more time to figure things out," she sighed. The last few weeks had been a blur of grief and highways. Despite having plenty of time to think while she was on the road, Kara's thoughts were still scattered. She supposed losing everything, including a parent, in one night did that to a person.

Scott handed her a helmet, gesturing to his bike. He noticed how the drawn look on Kara's face made her seem ten years older than the cautious girl lying on the hospital bed.

"How old are you?" Scott blurted out, taking Kara by surprise.

"Twenty."

Scott hadn't given much thought to her age, but twenty surprised him. She seemed closer to Derek's age. Maybe it was just the guarded expression or the observant eyes.

"How old are you?" Kara asked, her curiosity winning over.

"I'm seventeen."

Kara raised her eyebrows.

"That is pretty…"

"Young?" Scott finished for her, swinging a leg over his bike. Three weeks ago Kara would have refused to get on a motorcycle for fear of injuring herself, but present day Kara didn't give the bike a second glance before jumping on and pulling down her helmet visor.

* * *

The building was quite tall, with a good amount of levels to accompany the many flights of stairs. Kara thought that it had an industrial feel to it and closely followed Scott up the stairs, heading towards to the top of the building. That feeling was only reinforced at the sight of a large, faded sliding door. Kara looked at Scott, who gave her a reassuring smile before opening the door to reveal the faces of the protectors of Beacon Hills.

Kara stepped into the room cautiously, reminding herself to stand tall and remain confident. Or at least give the impression of confidence, since her nerves were a tangled mess inside of her stomach. _They won't trust me if I'm too nervous to talk._

She breathed in deeply and exhaled out her anxiety, leaving only confidence and a sense of peace. If this didn't work, Kara would figure something out. She always did.

A few of the people standing in front of her looked moderately friendly, but Kara could see the questioning look in all of their eyes. Some more than others. One person, in particular, caught her eye.

A dark-haired man stood rigidly in the centre of the room, arms crossed. As if his body language wasn't enough to tell Kara she wasn't welcome, he turned and whispered something into the ear of another man, who raised his eyebrows in response. Kara knew it was perfectly reasonable for them to feel wary of her. Here was this complete stranger, who they knew nothing about, coming into their town and demanding to see the alpha. This stranger could very well be their enemy, so all Kara had to do know was convince them otherwise. It should be easy, considering her intentions were good and honest.

Easier said than done.

"Guys, this is Kara," Scott introduced her to each person gathered in the loft, leaving the unwelcoming man for last.

"So you're Derek Hale," Kara stated, folding her own arms. _Two can play at that game,_ she thought triumphantly.

"I heard you wanted to talk to me?" Derek questioned. He didn't like this girl. Something about the situation felt wrong and out of place. They didn't know anything about Kara other than her name and Derek would be damned if he let this stranger walk into this town and screw everything up.

Kara eyed his twitching jaw with consideration. It made her feel defensive, the way Derek was questioning her. But if she came off as defensive, it would seem as though she had something to hide.

Kara did have things to hide, but now was not the time to reveal all.

"I need your help," she started, preparing to launch into her explanation.

"Twelve years ago my mother and I were attacked by a werewolf. She was bitten, but she didn't turn."

 _Great,_ Derek thought with an internal eye roll. _She's here for revenge against the alpha that killed her mother._

"So she died?" Derek asked with a hard look.

Kara inhaled sharply and Scott shot Derek a glare at his insensitivity. Kara nodded.

"Three weeks ago,"

"Wait a minute," Peter Hale held up a hand, a disbelieving look on his face. "You're telling me she was bitten _twelve years ago_ and she only passed away last month?"

Kara could only nod her head since her throat had closed up with emotion. God, this was harder to talk about than she had realised, since the only person available for her to talk to was herself. And even though she felt like a fumbling mess most of the time, she liked to think that she hadn't quite reached that level of instability yet.

"My mother never really turned. The full moon affected her differently to how it was supposed to. I never saw any claws or fangs and only her eyes changed," she explained, throat constricting when she remembered how Ella's eyes had turned from green to an iridescent blue.

Derek and Peter shared a knowing look.

"Did the bite heal?" Peter asked. Kara nodded and watched Peter grimace.

"What?" she demanded. "What is it?"

"We know someone who healed from an, ah, alpha's claws without turning," he said vaguely. Stiles' eye twitched, realising that Peter was talking about Lydia.

"Don't forget to tell her who that alpha was," Stiles accused. Peter narrowed his eyes at the pale boy, who flinched.

"We all make mistakes."

Derek looked at Kara and watched her expression change to one of confusion.

"Tell us what happened to your mother," he instructed, voice slightly less hostile. He tried not to feel any sympathy for her. People died all the time. He had no reason to care about this stranger's past—at least not yet.

Kara explained how she would have to lock up her mother in the basement, but that it was just a precaution, since Ella spent most of the full moon shrieking in agony and not, well, becoming an actual werewolf.

"She would go completely berserk," Kara said, lost in the memory of her mother.

That was one of the things that still troubled Kara. Her mother's screams echoed in her head every time she thought about her.

The pain made her weak, Kara told them. Not to mention extremely ill. Within a few years, Ella had to quit her job because she was so fragile, leaving Asher to support the family. Kara paused when she mentioned her brother's name. She could not speak about what he had done, his betrayal. It was almost more painful than Ella's death.

Maybe that was because Asher's act of betrayal was the second of the four terrible events in Kara's life.

She gave more details on her mother's condition, like how she was always in pain on the full moon.

"There was something keeping her from fully shifting. I think that why it was so painful for her," Kara said, gauging their reactions.

Derek uncrossed his arms and ran a hand through short hair, trying to make sense of what Kara had just relayed to them.

"That doesn't make any sense," Stiles spoke up. "I thought that if you get bitten you either die straight away or turn. What kept her from fully shifting?"

"That's what I came here to find out."

"I had to work on the night of the last full moon," Kara sighed, preparing herself for what she was about to say. The suppressed memories that were about to surface.

"My shift ended later than I thought it would. Too late to lock her up in the basement. When I got home my mother had—" Kara's voice broke.

Hyper-aware of the many pairs of eyes on her, she silently picked up the pieces of her shattered resolve and taped them back together. Hands shaking, Kara continued with a distant, logical voice. She had practiced controlling her voice in the many hours spent driving in the car. She had forced herself to relive her past until it became someone else's, until she could speak without her voice letting it become flooded with grief. Without letting it betray her.

"She tore herself apart. It was the first time her claws had appeared and I guess the pain was too much for her to bear."

Saddened eyes gazed pityingly at the girl with a disastrous past. Hapless as she was, Kara had become determined to not let the catastrophes in her life pave the way for an unfortunate time in Beacon Hills. Kara would be damned if she walked out of this town empty handed.

"I need to find the alpha that bit my mother. I have a strong feeling that whoever they are, they know why my mother didn't turn," Kara finished. She stayed silent for a while, letting everyone absorb the information.

She heard Isaac mutter a "holy crap" and turned to Scott, but it was Derek who asked the question on everyone's mind.

"How do we fit into this?"

Kara bit her lip, dreading the reaction to her next statement.

"I was hoping you could help me track down the alpha."

Derek raised his eyebrows and looked at Scott. He tried to assess the younger wolf's thoughts, hoping that he would share the notion that agreeing to help this girl would get them into all kinds of trouble. Instead, Scott looked like he was ready to throw himself into helping Kara.

"And why should we help you?" Derek asked the all-important question. Kara smiled, relieved to be done with talking about her family. This was the fun part.

"Because I have something you don't."

Scott smiled at Kara, a knowing look crossing his features. "Show them what you showed me."

Kara nodded in his direction and closed her eyes, raising her arms so that they were parallel to the ground with her palms facing downwards. She reached into the depths of her mind and grasped onto the power that made her supernatural. Kara opened her eyes and focused that power on all of the people standing in front of her. There were grunts and groans of pain as every werewolf in the vicinity pressed their hands to their head as a result of the piercing pain inflicted upon them by the powerful girl. The only one not affected by Kara was Stiles, who was human. Kara extinguished her power and the pack looked at her incredulously.

"What the hell was that?" Derek demanded, now knowing what the bad feeling was about. Kara was supernatural and the fact that he didn't know what she was or the extent of her power worried him.

"I just identified every werewolf here by sending out a high sound frequency that only wolves can hear," Kara stated with a small smirk.

"And that's not the only thing I can do."

* * *

The pack stood in a circle around a small table, working out if they were going to take up Kara's offer of helping them or not. They were each thinking about the pros and cons of agreeing to help this stranger, the main con being that it seemed Kara was powerful enough to turn on them at any moment. The positive aspects of having an ally like Kara were numerous, though, and most of the pack was all for sealing the deal. Stiles and Derek were having a little trouble getting over the dangerous possibility of being betrayed.

"I mean, how much do we really know about this girl? She could have a super weird fetish for oh, I don't know, collecting the claws of werewolves!" Stiles argued, hands flying as he made his point. Everyone glanced over at the blonde girl who stood in front of the floor to ceiling window, watching the brilliant sunset with a smile on her lips. "Yeah, real threatening," Isaac muttered.

"I know it's risky to trust her, but I think with the rival pack coming we're going to need all the help we can get," Scott stated pointedly. Derek sighed, knowing that he was right. They had gotten lucky with the whole Jackson/Kanima fiasco and Derek wasn't sure they could handle another potentially dangerous pack without any extra help. And Kara could certainly provide extra help.

With the pack staring up at him expectantly, Derek nodded, "Fine."

Scott hurried over to Kara to tell her that they would help her find the alpha in question and Derek watched her eyes light up. She thanked Scott and her gaze slipped over his shoulder to the pack, flashing everyone a grateful smile. Derek turned away for a moment, finding the action it frustratingly endearing.

"That's the only reason you came? To find the alpha that bit your mother?" he asked Kara, trying to make sure that there wasn't any chance of her deceiving them. Derek was too distracted by Stiles tripping and knocking a lamp over to notice the blip in Kara's heartbeat when she nodded in answer. But Peter did.

Peter Hale noticed everything.

Kara squirmed uncomfortably under his scrutinising gaze. There was something she had to ask and she was sure they wouldn't like it. While the Grayson's had been a wealthy family after Ella became too sick to work their financial state slowly deteriorated. It was difficult, but they were able to manage with the steady income of Asher's work in the army. Kara took what little money was left when she headed for Beacon Hills, but it wasn't nearly enough to rent an apartment or anywhere else suitable enough to live in.

Hesitantly, Kara said, "I kind of need a place to stay."

It had taken some convincing on Scott's part to get Derek to agree to have Kara stay at the loft. Her argument had been that they wouldn't see much of her since she would be out either trying to find the alpha or applying for jobs in the area. But it felt strange for Derek to have someone who wasn't a member of his pack stay in his home.

It was part of the deal, so he obliged.

Kara felt a great weight lift from her shoulders when Derek nodded, a sigh of relief escaping her mouth. That was one burden she didn't have to carry, at least for a while. Living out of a car was awfully constricting, and she hadn't gotten a good night's sleep in quite a while. _Doesn't mean you'll get one here_ , Kara told herself tenderly.

"I'll show you where you can sleep," Derek said, signaling the end of the pack meeting. Kara followed him into the small spare bedroom and admired the bed that sat in the corner of the room, a wistful look on her face. God, a bed. It seemed like months since she'd had a proper room to sleep in.

Derek turned to leave the room but Kara called out for him to wait.

"I know you don't trust me," she began, and Derek waited for the why-you-should-trust-me speech. "And I don't expect you to."

"Just know that I'm here to do what I need to do and as soon as I have achieved that, I'll leave," Kara said. _There is no point in me staying anyways._

A part of Derek wanted to ask where she would go after Beacon Hills, but the truth was that Kara would not have an answer for him. She couldn't bring herself to think about the future any more than she already had. Everything was already moving too fast for her to comprehend.

Seeing the genuine look in her eyes made Derek think that maybe this wasn't such a bad idea after all, but it wasn't enough for him to drop his guard completely.

"Okay."

And with that he left Kara sitting on the bed, wondering what her next move was. This made her think of Ella. Actually, everything made Kara think of her mother.

This was because the death of Ella Grayson was the third terrible event. The first three disasters tore Kara apart and sent her life spiraling, but the final event gave her back what she'd lost in life.

Purpose.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

 _Werewolves, kanimas, werewolf hunters,_ Kara listed in her head. _What else is out there?_

Kara sat with her newfound ally in her car, which had been previously held at the police station since it was found precariously close to a ditch on the side of the road. She had to answer questions made awkward by the necessity of a few lies here and there, and it involved a lot of cringing at the use of her flirtation skills on the young deputy questioning her. Fortunately, the reward for producing a brilliant blush on the deputy's face was the return of her car.

Rain fell gently from the clouds above them. It wasn't a particularly nice day, but Kara welcomed the change in weather. She was used to clear skies and warmer temperatures around this time of year. The slightly cooler days in Beacon Hills helped to put imaginary distance between here and Kara's home and she would take everything she could get to alienate herself from missing home, even if it was just the weather.

Scott eyed the surprised look on Kara's face. He had thought it would be a good idea to tell her about Jackson and Peter, but he had been under the impression that Kara knew more about the supernatural than just werewolves. Her puzzled reaction to Scott's explanation of the Kanima told him otherwise.

Kara cleared her throat. Noticing Scott's odd look, she said, "I knew there were other supernatural beings out there, but I wasn't exactly sure what they were."

 _Or what I am,_ she thought.

"Trust me, we're still learning," Scott sighed. Kara saw it then, the ghost of a heavy burden behind his eyes. It was what made him seem older than seventeen, like he had seen things no teenager should have to see. But alongside that burden lay compassion—the kind that only came from a pure heart.

Kara started the car and they lapsed into a comfortable silence.

"Remind me again where I'm dropping you," Kara said, eyes squinting to peer through the haze of rain.

"Just around the corner, thanks."

Awkward small talk filled the car, but any attempt at a proper conversation was abandoned the moment Scott's phone buzzed loudly. "It's Derek."

The surprised tone of his voice told Kara that Derek didn't text very often. She glanced at him and immediately took note of the worried look that crossed his features. Scott furrowed his brows in confusion.

"He says there's something you need to see."

It's only when the sharp taste of blood fills her mouth does Kara realise she's been biting the inside of her cheek. _Why so vague, Derek?_ He could have given her a little more information, something to stop her mind from running wild with anxiety. "My house is the one on the left," Scott pointed, bringing her focus back to driving. Kara pulled up in front of a fairly regular-looking house, engine humming. Scott said a quick "thank you" but hesitated with his hand on the door.

"When, uh, when you were in the hospital my mum noticed a...scar. On your stomach," Scott said nervously, not sure how she would react to the knowledge that someone had seen her scars. "It kind of looked like..."

"Claw marks? I had an accident when I was younger," Kara said dismissively, keeping her answer vague. Technically she wasn't lying—there had been an accident. She just wasn't about to tell Scott, a person she hardly knew, exactly what kind of accident it was. She could tell he wanted to ask about it but he also didn't want to be intrusive.

Eventually, Scott waved goodbye and hopped out of the car. Kara let out a breath of relief then groaned when she remembered Derek's half-assed text. _There's something you need to see._ Hadn't she seen enough? Grumbling, Kara drove back to the loft. Absolutely dreading what she would find.

* * *

Heart hammering against her rib cage, Kara took the stairs leading up to the loft two at a time. She'd had ten whole minutes to worry and agonise over the possible outcomes of what Derek would show her. Most of the scenarios were exceptionally terrifying. One even included Kara fainting in the Alpha's arms, which was equally as horrifying as the notion of death. Kara shuddered then stopped halfway up the last flight of stairs. Heart still pounding, she attempted to calm herself. _If it was something really urgent, Derek would have called me,_ she tried to convince herself. But why text Scott instead of her?

Kara distracted her mind with thoughtless complaints about the lack of elevator in the building. Derek came into view suddenly, a brooding figure leaning against the loft door. There was something plastered on the door. A piece of paper. Kara approached it slowly, her face smooth as marble. The only thing that reflected the mess of feelings inside Kara's body were her trembling hands as they reached to pull down the object. _Not just any piece of paper,_ Kara realised. A birth certificate. Her birth certificate.

Derek watched her reaction carefully and listened as her heart thudded. A few minutes ago his expression would have been laced with suspicion at the situation. Kara had only been in Beacon Hill for five days, two of which were spent in the hospital, but Derek could sense that there was something off about her. This could be a trap, or a distraction from something important. What was he missing? What didn't add up? Why did he get a terrible lurching feeling in his stomach at the sight of genuine unease on Kara's face? He knew it wouldn't make any sense for Kara to do something like this. But when did anything in this town ever make sense?

The alpha cleared his throat. "I found it sometime after you left," he explained.

Kara frowned. "It wasn't there when I left."

"Which means that someone taped it to the door in the 15 or so minutes between that time that you left and the time that I came out here."

Kara clenched her jaw. She turned her attention back to the certificate and scanned over it. There. The reason, the clue, the purpose of what she held in her trembling hands glared at her from the page. The person who was responsible for this stunt had pointedly scribbled over an important piece of information on the birth certificate, covering it with black ink. _The name of my father_ , Kara realized with an awful tremor down her spine. Grim-faced, Derek handed her a sticky-note that had been left with the certificate. _Don't worry. You'll find all the answers to your questions, but it might be more than you want to hear,_ the note read. Kara ripped it in half, shoving the shreds of paper in her jean pocket. What the hell was that supposed to mean?

A cryptic note with hidden meaning didn't sit well with Kara. Clearly whoever wrote the note knew of Kara's arrival, why she was here and maybe even who her father was. The fact that they knew all of this was undeniably scary, considering Kara hadn't even been in Beacon Hills for a week. The one thing that really got to her was the blacked out name of her father. A sudden itch to find out who he was grew inside of her, something that she had never before desired. Kara had been so preoccupied with her mother's illness that any thought of her mysterious father was pushed to the back of her mind, eventually disappearing altogether.

Where was this so-called father when an eleven year old Kara was screaming for her brother to come quick because Ella had started vomiting black blood? Where was he when Kara had to chain her mother up to a wall and listen to agonizing screams of pain every month? That was the job of an adult, not a twelve year old girl. Kara felt unexplainable anger towards this person she had never met, who had deserted the Grayson family not long after Kara was born. Asher's memories of him were fuzzy and all she had ever gotten out of her mother was that he had simply disappeared one day. When she thought about it now, Kara got the feeling Ella knew more than she was letting on.

"You don't have any idea of who might have written this?" Derek asked.

"No," Kara answered immediately, hearing the hint of accusation in his voice.

"But I think that we should be extremely wary of whoever this person is. They seem to know a lot and that can't be good for any of us."

Kara carefully folded the certificate and placed it in her pocket. She would look at it in more detail later. The rush of blood in her ears that came with the shock of finding out something unnerving was a feeling Kara had become well accustomed to, which was why she was able to push it to the back of her mind and focus on the present. Compartmentalise her emotions. Push them away until she was alone, where they demanded her attention. Sighing, she slid open the loft door. "You should probably tell your pack to be on high alert and to look out for anyone who seems suspicious," she announced to Derek, who winced faintly.

"That's the other thing," Derek began. "Isaac is missing as well."

Kara whirled on him.

" _What?_ " she demanded. "Wait, what do you mean 'as well'?"

A dull pang tore through Derek's chest, which he ignored. He kept his explanation short, not wanting Kara to know that his pack of teenagers had been in search of another pack. "A few months ago two of my pack members went missing. Erica and Boyd."

"So you don't have a pack," Kara deadpanned. She didn't come to Beacon Hills for an Alpha with no pack. Without them, he might as well be an Omega.

"Of course I do," Derek scoffed, matching her hard stare with one of his own.

"I wouldn't be an Alpha if I didn't have a pack."

He willed the power behind his eyes to turn his irises into a searing red. Kara recoiled involuntarily. Something about those eyes, that colour….

A fuzzy memory unearthed itself in Kara's mind. One of terror and panic, something that she had tried so many times to bury. Red eyes, the eyes of an alpha, leapt out at her.

Derek smirked at her reaction and walked off, leaving her reeling with undecipherable emotions. "Dick," Kara muttered.

Kara took notice of Peter, sitting on the couch and nonchalantly flipping through a book. _Her_ book, the one she had unwisely left on the coffee table. She narrowed her eyes as he closed the book pointedly and sauntered towards her. Peter regarded Kara's folded arms and gritted teeth with a considerate expression that made shivers run down her spine. She knew Peter couldn't be trusted, even if he was Derek's uncle. Not after what Scott had told her.

 _You can't trust him Kara._ She remembered the look in Scott's eyes that had begged her to understand, to oblige. _No matter what he says._

"Good book, is it?" Peter asked, walking in a circle around Kara as he spoke. "Personally, I'm not really into crime fiction, although I can see why you like it."

Kara kept her lips pursed together, determined not to let him know that she was intimidated. But what good did that do if he could hear her racing heartbeat? Kara suspected he could smell her anxiety as well, although Scott did mention that Peter wasn't as strong since he came back to life. She had blanched at that when Scott told her. Werewolves she could deal with, but a deranged, manipulative werewolf who had somehow raised himself from the dead was a little out of Kara's comfort zone.

"It could do with a bit more horror in it, I think," Peter stated. He came to a halt, leaning in to whisper into Kara's ear. "But I think you've experienced enough horror, haven't you?'

Quicker than Peter anticipated, Kara whirled on him. She spun with lighting fast reflexes and grabbed the werewolf's outstretched hand, which had been reaching to touch her hair. "Touch me and I snap this," Kara threatened, holding Peter's hand in an iron grip. There was no extra strength in her grasp on Peter, but somehow he couldn't pull away. Kara was using something other than physical force to keep a hold on him. Peter smirked, finally guessing that the blond before him had no idea about the extent of her power or what it even was. A fact that made her both dangerous and a target.

A target for manipulation.

Peter knew Kara could easily break his hand. He also knew that she didn't want to, but her distaste for him was evident. All he had to do was provoke her.

"Go on. Do it," he sneered. "Unless you aren't strong enough."

Kara felt Peter's bones break under her hands before her brain had even registered what she was doing. She heard his growl of pain and saw him stagger back, but an odd sort of rush flowed through her and drowned out everything else. _What the hell,_ she thought. Kara was too absorbed in the buzz in her veins to register the look of triumph on Peter's face. She walked away from him, a frown on her face. Book in hand, she disappeared into her temporary room, feeling oddly proud of herself for following through on her threat.

Peter smiled smugly. If he had manipulated Kara right under her nose this time, imagine how easy it would be the next time.

* * *

Kara sat in her newfound spot in front of the loft window, absorbed in another book. Reading was her escape. She didn't have to think about her problems, but more importantly, she did not have to _feel_. Sure, she felt emotion for the characters in books when she read about their struggles but it was still the ultimate distraction from her own life. Kara took any distraction she could get, as it was the only way to wade through her sea of issues. She knew there would come a point where the sea became too polluted with problems to swim through, so really all she was doing was delaying the inevitable. Kara would have to deal with her problems someday.

The list of things that worried Kara was growing at an alarming rate. First was the mysterious note and birth certificate, now the personification of a pain in the ass that was Peter. Strangely, the one thing that occupied her mind the most was the mystery of her father's identity. Thinking about that resurfaced memories of Ella. She loved to tell stories, even when she got sick. Kara liked to think of her mother's condition as an illness and not the result of a werewolf bite gone wrong.

It was through the stories Kara's mother told that she first learnt about the supernatural world. At first they were just tall tales, but after that fatal night in the woods, they became very, very real. One of the stories that Kara loved to hear as a child was the history of the Grayson family. The details were hazy since it had been so long since she had heard the story, but her ancestors had migrated from Greece to England many years ago. When Kara had asked how they ended up in the U.S, Ella explained that her mother moved here when she was a little girl. There was something else about the story that Kara couldn't remember, something important. She could suddenly see her younger self asking Ella why their ancestors moved to England. It had always been her dream to travel to Greece. She felt drawn to the place, even though the most she had seen of it was pictures. Who would want to leave a beautiful place like that?

 _Someone who doesn't have a choice,_ Kara realised suddenly. She remembered it now—the odd look on Ella's face when she told her that the Grayson family was running from something. Kara could recall the memory almost perfectly, even her mother's expression. She didn't give it a second thought when she was younger, but now she found it odd that there was a mixture of bitterness and wistfulness on Ella's face. Maybe she was thinking of what a life in Greece would have been like. Kara doubted there were many werewolves over there.

The cryptic family history peaked Kara's interest. She racked her brain for where she could find out more information and stared at the book in her hands. The book! Of course, a library would be the most likely place to start looking. She clapped a hand to her mouth, startling Derek, who looked up in alarm. It was a long shot, but Kara couldn't help but wonder if there was information in the library that could give her a clue as to who her father was. Plus, now would be a good chance to brush up on her supernatural knowledge and research the history of Beacon Hills. Maybe she would find something that could help her in the future.

"I have to go to the library," Kara announced suddenly, hurriedly grabbing her jacket.

"Do you even know where it is?" Derek asked, slightly puzzled by her sudden actions.

"No, but you're going to tell me."

Derek sighed, "It's in Marshall Street, a couple of blocks away from the high school."

"Thanks," Kara said. She raced towards the door, keen to have as much time to research as possible.

"What are you looking for in the library?" Derek questioned her, but she had already vanished out of sight.

"She's a strange one isn't she?" Peter casually descended down the stairs, his mouth twisted into an irritating smirk. Derek clenched his hands into fists at the sound of his uncle's voice. It bothered him, how Peter spoke about Kara, but that was probably because everything Peter did bothered him. Every move was calculated and deliberate with a purpose that would ultimately only benefit himself. And if he couldn't manipulate you, he would catch you at a moment of weakness and make an offer that could not be refused.

"What are you doing here?" Derek asked, voice cold and straight to the point. Peter mockingly placed a hand over his heart, pretending to be hurt by his harsh tone.

"Can't I visit my favourite nephew?"

"I'm your only nephew."

"All the more reason to spend quality time with you,"

Derek scoffed. "You call this quality time?"

"More or less."

Peter's eyes gleamed with arrogance, a sure sign that he was planning something. Derek's eyes narrowed. He had gotten used to deflecting Peter's attempts to get under his skin, and he recognised the signs of possible manipulation immediately. A seemingly casual demeanor. Small talk. Innocent, unassuming words.

"I was just thinking, Derek, that we don't really know all that much about Kara."

Statements that poked at Derek's insecurities.

Normally he wouldn't have let Peter keep talking, but there was a piece of information that his uncle was dangling above him, waiting for him to take the bait and fall into a trap. He could hear it in Peter's voice. When Derek remained silent, his uncle took that as his cue to continue.

"When Kara first came to us, I was willing to give her the benefit of the doubt. But something made me realise that we should be very careful with this girl. You know, apart from the fact that she basically came out of nowhere and begged for our help with a suspicious backstory. She essentially took advantage of the pity we felt for her—'we' being Scott, you know what that boy is like…" Peter trailed off and frowned thoughtfully. "Sometimes I think that he trusts too easily, as opposed to you, who wouldn't know trust if it stared you in the face…"

Derek rolled his eyes exasperatedly as realization dawned on him. Peter was rambling, and that was not a habit of his. Stiles was the rambler. Peter was purposely deviating from the point he was going to make, just to aggravate Derek. If he was annoyed, it meant he was involved. Peter was simply waiting for him to take the bait.

"What do you want?"

Peter's smirk returned at his nephew's words. "Remember when you asked Kara if the sole reason she came here was to find the alpha that bit her mother?"

Derek remained silent. He would never admit it, but he was dreading the next words to come out of his uncle's mouth. Maybe if he stayed silent—but Peter wouldn't wait for him again. Derek was already hooked in and there was no going back now.

"Kara's heartbeat picked up when she answered, but you didn't notice because _Stiles_ —"Peter put noticeable emphasis on the aberrant boy's name "—knocked over the lamp on your desk."

Blood rushed through Derek's ears. He saw but did not register Peter's shark-like smile, for he was too focused on the feeling of betrayal burning through his body. Peter inspected his face closely, looking for any sign of emotion. His smile vanished when he came up empty. It was extremely frustrating how even though he thought he had managed to manipulate Derek, he couldn't read his nephew's thoughts. Peter knew there was a swarm of emotions in Derek's head right now, but what those feelings were he did not know.

"Kara lied, Derek," he pressed on. Anything to get a reaction from his nephew. The only way he would truly know if he had successfully manipulated him. Peter was getting frustrated now. Derek should be angry. He should be seething, ready to seek out Kara right that second and demand for her to tell him the truth.

But there was nothing. "Don't you get it Derek? This girl _cannot be trusted_. We know almost nothing about her, and you of all people should know damn well that this could turn ugly faster than you could blink," Peter finished with his voice raised and chest heaving. Derek looked up at him, something like realization on his face. Peter had made a mistake by getting angry.

"Get out," Derek snapped. They both knew what, or who, Peter was talking about. Kate Argent was still plaguing a part of Derek's life from the dead, which was something Peter knew all too well.

They stared each other for a while and Derek debated on whether he should just throw his uncle out, since he was standing firmly in place. Finally, before Derek could make a move, Peter stalked out of the loft.

Out of sight, but certainly not out of mind.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **I hope you're all enjoying the story so far! Since I like to get creative with my fanfics I will usually modify certain aspects of the original story, but I don't plan on changing anything major:)**

 **I have more chapters to come and will try to update as regularly as I can, but please keep in mind that I have school and other commitments to keep up with as well.**

 **Thanks for reading!  
**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

If there were ever a time where the ability to fly would come in handy, it would be now. It was alright for Derek, having this many stairs to walk up—he had enhanced stamina and the supernatural ability to not die from exhaustion. Kara, however, was feeling the strain of her muscles on every step, especially the muscles in her arms being used to carry the pile of books she had scavenged at the library. The air around her was cool and damp, as it always was in the neglected building.

It was late. The last time Kara checked her watch, it was nearly midnight, but who knows how much time she spent climbing the stairs. The loft door loomed up ahead, and Kara peered at it over her pile of books, preparing to juggle them in one hand while she opened the door. Maybe it would have been smarter to make two trips with a sensible amount of books each, but Kara probably would have collapsed halfway through the second trek up.

Damn, she was unfit.

A whine of protest came from the door as Kara pulled it back, cringing at the noise. She had forgotten how loud the door was, and the sound seemed to be amplified in the darkness. Carefully balancing the books so that they wouldn't fall and create more noise, Kara stepped inside the loft and was greeted by the sight of Derek's bleary eyes from his position on the couch. It was obvious that he had been sleeping, and wasn't exactly happy about being woken up.

"Sorry," she said apologetically, her voice seeming too loud in the quiet night. "I didn't mean to wake you."

Derek continued to eye Kara as she placed her enormous pile of books on the table in front of him. _This girl cannot be trusted._ Peter's words had been swimming around in his head for what felt like an eternity, echoing and digging themselves into the most insecure parts of him they could find. And if his words couldn't find vulnerable crevices in his head, they would become shards of glass and cut new fears into his mind. Derek hated it, hated feeling vulnerable and out of control. Even for a second.

 _Kara lied, Derek…cannot be trusted…know almost nothing about her…could turn ugly faster than you could blink…_

"I know it's late, but I found something that you might want to take a look at," Kara explained, pulling the heaviest book out of the pile. She paused for a moment, suddenly overcome with a memory. This wasn't the first time she had spent hours researching at the library, desperate for something, _anything,_ to give her some kind of clue as to what to do next. When Ella got sick, it became routine for Kara to spend her nights at the library and scrabble for anything that would help her mother. No one else could do it—Asher was always working to compensate for the loss of income from Ella's work. Kara remembered being envious of Asher at times, even as a little girl, because he had an excuse to not be at home, and soon enough she had read the library dry of knowledge. Every waking moment spent at that library was filled with the constant reminder that all she was really doing was running away—away from her home filled with painful responsibilities and a dependent mother.

Facing Derek now, Kara looked at him with tired yet insistent eyes. It made him want to put his head through a wall. He was trying to match Peter's words about Kara to the girl in front of him, but they didn't fit. It was like putting a name to a face, except this time it felt wrong. Like he had the wrong name. Or the wrong person.

Kara was distant and independent—still, she was helping the pack. But that was the problem, right? Everyone who had ever earned Derek's trust and broken it had done so by pretending to help him. Derek could see all of their faces now, all strung up on an invisible wire in his mind—Kate, Peter, Ennis—and now Kara's face glimmered faintly on that line. A betrayal waiting to happen.

"It can wait until tomorrow," Derek said curtly, rolling onto his side so that his back faced Kara. His rude rebuff left Kara slack-jawed in bewilderment, her ears growing hot with annoyance. "O-kay then," she huffed. Derek hadn't exactly been all smiles and warm hugs towards Kara since her arrival, but he'd at least had the decency to give her the time of day. Up until now, apparently.

 _Asshole,_ Kara thought as she picked up her books with gritted teeth. She supposed she shouldn't be getting this worked up about Derek's dismissal—after all, it was past midnight. But this could be something important, maybe even information that could give them leverage over whatever was coming to Beacon Hills. Something told Kara this town was going to need all of the help it could get. And wasn't this part of the deal? In return for the pack's assistance with finding the alpha that killed her mother, Kara would be of service when the storm that was brewing finally fell upon Beacon Hills—but how was she supposed to do this if no one would listen to her?

Anxiety coiled in Kara's stomach. Never before had she felt so much like an outsider, like someone trying to look through frosted glass to the people on the inside. Not even when she had to face the whispers of her high school peers once the rumours of her sick mother started to circulate. Kara strode purposefully into her room, as much as one could after being rejected. She did not want to feel tonight. She did not want to have to deal with the onslaught of emotions that plagued her at night, even though she knew they would come. Taking deep, calming breaths, Kara reached over and pulled out the photo of Ella she had nabbed in her haste to pack for an uncertain future. She stared at the picture, absorbing every aspect of the photo. Ella's smile. Her sparkling eyes. It was strange to think that over time Ella's eyes would dull and her smile would fade, because they were so prominent in this picture. Perhaps Kara liked it because it gave her a chance to forget, if only for a second. Little did she know that staring at that photo for hours on end to get only a second of relief was doing more harm than good, which was why confusion set in when tears fell on her mother's face like acid rain.

Ella was a firm believer in working things out in the morning. It seemed to her that while the sun was up, anything could be solved. That was, until the sun stopped bringing her solutions.

* * *

The coffee scalded Kara's throat as she swallowed, shuddering at the bitter taste. She had missed her strong coffee wake up ritual, and this morning it was essential if she had any hope of figuring out what the information she'd found last night meant. There were books spread out on the wooden table in front of Kara in an unorganised fashion due to her lack of sleep, and she gazed at them, slightly overwhelmed. There was so much information to absorb, but only certain parts would prove useful. Kara had been up since sunrise, and so far she had combed through half of the books she brought home last night. God, last night. Most of it was a blur of words, but there were certain things that stuck with her. It was good and bad, she supposed.

For starters, there was an intriguing piece of writing floating around somewhere, which was fueling Kara's everlasting search through all of her borrowed books. It had something to do with Kara's heritage, and she had to know exactly how it was relevant to her as well as how it might be able to help the pack. How it might be able to help the deal. She was glad that her sleep-deprived mind was able to hold on to that half-discovery, but she wished she could forget what happened after coming back from the library.

Kara also wished that she was not so pathetically dependent on caffeine. Seriously, she was nearly finished with her second cup of coffee since waking up only a few hours ago.

Footsteps on the stainless steel of the spiral stairs alerted Kara to the presence of someone, presumably Derek. She didn't exactly want to look to check, since it would mean acknowledging his presence, which was something she had managed to avoid doing so far. It was not because Kara was mad at him, but rather her frustration with herself for getting so worked up about his rebuff last night. Sure, it had stung a little, but he was a naturally blunt person, often to the point of rudeness. It wasn't like she hadn't experienced Derek's irritated moods before. So why couldn't she let it go?

Internally groaning with frustration, Kara pulled the next book towards her and flipped a few pages in. She skimmed over the words on the page, until she found something that caught her eye.

 _Family legend#5_

 _The Grivas family is of Greek origin, and its history is rich but scattered. Said to hold divine powers, the members of the Grivas family were feared by those who suspected that there was something more, something other-worldly about the family. The people of the small Greek community where this family lived were divided into three groups—those who were oblivious to any supernatural happenings, those who feared the family, and those who didn't. The latter, opposing group's members were far and few, making them look foolish to others, but they too were believed to have supernatural ties. Legend does not tell us exactly what powers the Grivas family possessed, but we do know that the abilities of the opposing group linked to legends of shape-shifters and were enough to drive this supposedly-powerful family out of Greece. After the Grivas family fled from Greece their history becomes scattered, since the exact location of where they fled to is not known. Many researchers believe the Grivas family relocated to somewhere in the United Kingdom, but this has not been confirmed. It is not known if there are any members of the Grivas family left today, and if so, do they still possess the same powers believed to be the destruction of—_

"Ugh, great," Kara muttered, staring at the torn edge of the paper. Someone had obviously decided that the end of this legend was not to be read by anyone else.

Rude.

Kara flipped through the rest of the book to make sure that the missing piece of paper had not been caught up in any of the other pages, but her search proved to be fruitless. There was a key piece of information that Kara may never know of, and the thought made her frown. Hope was slipping through her fingers like a rope, leaving her with burning hands. She had to get answers, and she had to get them now.

"You know, your little trips to the library aren't really doing much, Kara."

Derek's voice made Kara pause her search for her car keys. She glanced at him and felt annoyance coil in her stomach at his tone. The way he spat out her name, like it was something dirty, stirred irritation in her. "At least I'm doing something productive. Your searches for Erica and Boyd aren't making much progress either."

Kara knew she was pushing Derek's buttons and she might have regretted the retort if he hadn't of strode towards her and stood over her with steely eyes, daring her to match his gaze. Kara's feet were itching to step backward and distance her from Derek's gaze, but she took a step forward instead and stared defiantly. Anger she never knew she had coursed through her, lighting her blood on fire.

"Fine. You want some solid information? Well, your entire pack is missing—Erica and Boyd have been for months now—and I'm starting to think that Scott, a teenage omega, would make a better alpha than you ever could."

Kara could pinpoint the exact moment Derek's anger broke through. It was as he grabbed her bicep and pushed her into the wall, trapping her with a tight grip. A cry of surprise left Kara's lips as her back collided with the wall, accompanied by a low hiss of pain. "Let me go," she demanded, an edge of fear in her voice now. She struggled to free her arm, but it was pointless.

Derek could not hear Kara's heartbeat over the sound of his own, which thrummed loudly in his ears. Conflicted emotions arose in his mind as his grip on the girl before him tightened, but any doubt that he should be doing this was overruled by Peter's lingering words. They fueled his anger and encouraged his actions.

"Not until you tell me the real reason why you are in Beacon Hills."

Confusion flitted wildly across Kara's face. "What? I've told you everything already, I swear."

"You're lying," Derek insisted, his tone flat. He was going to find out what Kara was hiding and put an end to his constant confliction when it came to trusting this girl. Kara felt the vice-like grip tighten on her arm, pressing her back into the wall even harder. Panic triggered an odd, burning sensation in her heart, travelling from the centre of her body to the end of her extremities. Kara's fingers were alive with what felt like sparks of electricity, and her arm shot forward in a flash to grip Derek's hand with her own. Kara felt the heat in her fingertips transfer to his skin in a split second, and she looked up in shock to see a yell of pain escape Derek's mouth. There was a bright red handprint on his wrist, as if someone had slapped him. Confusion flooded Kara's body. This had never happened before. Her power had always been contained—she had never accidentally hurt someone like this.

Despite the burn, Derek kept his grip on Kara tight. She knew he would do anything to get answers, and he wasn't going to let her go until he did. Kara swallowed her pride momentarily to pull up the hem of her top, revealing three parallel scars running from just above her left hip to her belly button. The skin of the scar was shiny and warped, but it wasn't the disfiguration of Kara's skin that bothered her—it was the tightness in her throat she felt every time she looked at the claw marks. It was the memories that came with the scars.

Derek let go of Kara's arm in surprise and stepped back from her, realisation dawning on his face. "The alpha scratched you?"

Glaring steadily at Derek, Kara tried to pick out words from her brain that would form a reason for why she had kept this a secret. She opened her mouth to fumble for an explanation but was interrupted by the loud buzz of her phone. Grateful for the interruption, Kara passed Derek swiftly to answer the call, frowning at the 'No Caller ID'

"Hello?"

Barely a second after the words had left Kara's mouth, a familiar sounding voice—the voice of a woman—spoke urgently. "Kara? It's Melissa. I've tried Derek's cell like five times—I need you to come to the hospital right now, and bring Derek if you can."

The Alpha in question perked up and turned around at the mention of his name, but Kara refused to meet his eyes. Her breath came in uneven spurts, her heart still fumbling in its haste to regain normality.

"It's Isaac. He's here at the hospital and about to go into surgery, so there is going to be trouble when the doctors see that he's healing," Melissa explained hurriedly.

Out of the corner of her eye, Kara saw Derek grab his car keys. "Okay, we'll be there soon. How did you get my number?"

"Scott," Melissa replied simply. "I should probably go, but text me when you get here."

Kara waited for the beep to signify the ended call before grabbing Melissa's cardigan and following Derek down the many flights of stairs.

* * *

Plenty of awkward, uncomfortable situations had presented themselves to Kara throughout her life, but she was sure that most of them paled in comparison to the strained atmosphere that filled Derek's car as they drove to the hospital. It was silent the entire time, giving Kara time to replay the last 15 minutes over, and over, and over again in her mind until her brain was numb with conflicting emotions. She should have told him about the scratch. She should have told him what it might mean for her. She should have told him that she wasn't just here to avenge her past, but to decipher her future as well. So why didn't she?

The hospital, with its pale walls and bleak atmosphere was a rare familiarity to Kara in this town; she was not sure if that was a good or bad thing. She was quickly learning her way around everything in Beacon Hills, especially the Library. It was only a small town, after all.

Derek strode in front of Kara towards the sliding doors, putting distance between them, which she was completely fine with. She rubbed her arm absentmindedly and felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. It was a text from Melissa.

 _Hurry—Isaac has just gone into surgery._

A sense of urgency filled Kara. She had only known the sweet, unfortunate kid for a short amount of time, but he had grown on her. She wanted to protect the young werewolf. Her pace at a jog now, she following Derek through the glass sliding doors and scanned the reception area for Melissa. Heart thrumming wildly, Kara gave up her search and started towards the hallway. A strange feeling overwhelmed Kara's senses, like an alarm system with its sirens wailing. It felt as though her body, or supernatural ability, was alerting her to something dangerous. And from the look on Derek's face, he could feel it too.

"What is that?" Kara asked him, face awash with uncertainty. Derek hesitated, his mind somewhere else. "I think it's another werewolf," he replied, then promptly darted down the hallway. Kara made a noise of exasperation then went after the impulsive werewolf, swearing under her breath.

At the end of the hall, she was met with a confronting sight. Animalistic growls filled the air from three blurred figures caught in a fight, their movements restricted in the small space of the hospital elevator. Kara spotted Scott and Isaac in amongst the action, and she was about to call out for them when her voice faltered as the action spilled out of the elevator and into the hall, a body skidding across the floor and coming to a halt at her feet. She swallowed a scream of fright rising in her throat and looked up in shock at Derek, who was staring pointedly at Scott.

"Shouldn't you be in school?" he deadpanned.

* * *

The blackened, decaying wood of the Hale house creaked with every footstep Kara took. Small shards of sunlight snuck in through the gaps in the walls and ceiling—what was left of it, of course. There were multiple bullets holes in the glass of the front windows, evidence of a fight. Werewolf hunters, Kara presumed. The charred remains of the house seemed to sway with the wind, and Kara couldn't help but marvel. The strange house she had heard bits and pieces about—something of a great fire that destroyed Derek's family—might have seemed eerie had Kara been alone, but she was there with Scott, Derek and Isaac. Why, she did not know.

Scott was on the phone to Stiles— _the hyperactive kid I first met at the loft, who knocked over that lamp,_ Kara reminded herself. He was rambling on about something to do with school; Kara caught the words 'birds' and 'Ms. Blake's class'.

"Just meet us at Derek's house, okay?" Scott told Stiles, and ended the call.

Derek had laid an unconscious Isaac, still in his hospital gown, on a wooden table. Kara watched, feeling inclined to keep her distance, as he rummaged around in a hole in the floor covered with loose pieces of wood and thin, snaking vines. Scott appeared beside her, craning his neck to study the house with furrowed brows. "Why are we here?" the omega asked. "You don't live here anymore."

"I know, but there is something here I need," Derek explained. "It'll help heal a wound from an alpha."

Scott and Kara shared a puzzled look. "But it did heal," she spoke up, uncertainty lacing her voice. Derek paused to glance at the curly-haired werewolf on the table.

"Not on the inside."

A small, frail-looking branch covered in purple flowers appeared suddenly from the mess of vines Derek was searching through, and he brought it over to the wooden table and began pulling it apart. "What is that?" Kara asked, eyes on the pale flowers. She was sure she had seen the plant before.

"Wolfsbane," Scott answered. He turned his attention on Derek, who had his back to them. "That guy back there—was he from the rival pack?"

There was a moment of tense silence. "He is an alpha, Derek," Scott pressed.

"And he's also my problem," Derek finally swiveled around to face the omega. "I know you want to help and you did—I owe you one. Now go home. Go back to being a teenager."

This was the first time Kara had had any insight into the relationship between Scott and Derek. She could see now that he had Scott's best interests at heart, and whether or not it had always been that way, Derek was a sort of mentor to Scott. But as soon as Kara felt a tiny bit of respect for the alpha in question, her mind threw forth images of his hand gripping her arm, the harshness in his eyes. She could not let herself forget the events of that morning.

"Uh, hey Derek?" Scott's voice broke the silence, snapping Kara's attention back to the present. "If you want to repay that favour back now…there is something you can do for me."

Kara observed, intrigued, as Derek studied Scott's arm with red eyes. Apparently, Scott had gotten a tattoo, but it had healed, meaning that the tattoo disappeared. _I guess enhanced healing has its pros and cons,_ Kara noted. She found it interesting that Derek could use his enhanced vision to see past _skin._ Despite only being in Beacon Hills for a short amount of time, Kara had learnt so many different things—like how a werewolf pack functioned, and how the Kanima is a type of shapeshifter—to the point where it was almost overwhelming. She had a feeling that she had only scratched the surface of the supernatural world.

"Yeah, I see it. Two bands right?" Derek leant back in his seat. Scott nodded, then watched with wide eyes as he pulled out a blowtorch. "Well, the pain is going to be worse than you've ever felt."

The alarm Kara felt was reflected on Stiles' face, as his mouth went slack at the sight of the blow torch. "Uh, so I'm gonna take that as my cue to leave-"

"Nope," Derek flung out an arm to catch Stiles around the stomach, stopping the boy from leaving. "I need you-" he nodded to Kara "-and Stiles to help hold him down."

Stiles reluctantly stumbled over to stand behind his best friend, side-eying Kara. If he were to be honest, she was a little bit intimidating, but he had the feeling that she didn't mean to be. They both gripped one of Scott's shoulder and braced themselves as Derek held the blow torch to Scott's arm. Kara's grip on the young werewolf nearly faltered as he writhed and yelled from the pain, his strength astounding.

"Hold him!" Derek commanded, and Kara's eyes widened at the sight of the claws growing from Scott's fingertips.

* * *

Scott awoke with a gasp to see Kara peering at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Finally," she said, her eyes on Scott's now visible tattoo. "Looks good," she added as an afterthought.

Scott lifted up his arm to examine the two bands that were now wrapped, permanently, around his bicep. He ran his fingers over the skin of the tattoo, surprised when it felt smooth. "It worked," he said, a smile forming on his face.

Gathering up his stuff, Scott and Stiles headed for the door. Kara moved to follow them, not particularly keen on being alone with Derek, when Scott paused halfway through opening the door, eyebrows knitted together. "Why did you paint the door?" he asked, staring accusingly at Derek. Kara threw a brief, confused glance at him then inspected the door. It had been sloppily painted a deep red, standing out in stark contrast to the dark, rotting wood of the house.

Derek hesitated. "Go home, Scott."

Scott ran his hand over the red coat of paint. "And why only one side?" he questioned. _He painted over it to hide something,_ Kara realised, and Scott must have realised too, because he splayed a hand out in one quick motion so that his claws appeared, and dragged a nail across the door. There was a slow, scratching sound as he scraped back a line of dried paint. "Scott!" Derek warned, hurrying over to prevent him from revealing any more of the old door, but Scott had already begun clawing at the door with more intensity. Kara held up a hand in front of her face to protect her eyes from the small flakes of paint that were being sprayed everywhere, but lowered her hand to gape at the symbol revealed on the door once Scott had finished.

"The birds at school, the deer last night, just like the night I got trampled by the deer—when I got bitten by the alpha," Scott listed, realisation forming on his face.

His words stirred recognition in Kara's mind.

"The night I came to Beacon Hills…I accidentally drove into a ditch because there was a deer on the road, running straight towards me," she said, confirming Scott's suspicions. Derek stood with his arms crossed, face contorted with hesitancy as he watched them put two and two together. The symbol on the door. The strange animal activity—coincidentally similar to the night Scott was bitten by a werewolf.

"The rival pack aren't coming. They're already here," Scott stared at Derek, eyes full of accusation. "This is their symbol, isn't it?"

Derek sighed, knowing that he could not keep it from Scott any longer. He nodded, glancing at the symbol on the door. "The symbol of an alpha pack."

Kara's head snapped up. An alpha pack? _And just when I thought I had this werewolf pack thing figured out,_ she thought.

"All of them? How does that even work?" Stiles asked with an expression that read 'aw, hell'.

"I hear there is some kind of leader. He's called Deucalion," Derek explained, watching a look of recognition cross Kara's face for a split second. "What? What is it?"

"I've heard that name before," she said, voice barely above a whisper. "I don't know where, but…I've heard it before."

She ignored the concerned glances shared between Derek, Scott and Stiles and dug deep into her memories, repeating the name over and over again. _Deucalion, Deucalion, Deucalion…_

"We know they have Boyd and Erica. Peter, Isaac and I have been looking for them for the last four months," Derek sighed.

"Say you find them," Scott proposed. "How do you deal with an alpha pack?"

"With all the help I can get."

Kara resisted the urge to shrink back as everyone's eyes turned to her. This was what she was here for. This was her time to prove whether or not she was helpful, and they got the feeling that the future of Beacon Hills depended on it.

Finally, the silence was broken as Scott turned to Derek. "No more secrets, okay?"

The alpha nodded, realising now that it was not wise of him to keep things from him, even if he was only a teenager. Scott was no ordinary teenager.

"Oh, before you go," Kara said abruptly, shrugging the cardigan off of her shoulders to hold it in front of Scott. "This belongs to your mum. Tell her I say thank you."

Scott gave her an appreciative smile and turned to leave, but stopped when Stiles nudged him. His eyes were locked on Kara's bare arm, suspicion tainting his face. She glanced down at her arm and realised that he was looking at the bruises that must have come from this morning.

"What is that from?" Stiles asked casually, his tone light. Kara knew he didn't entirely trust her, at least not like Scott did. He was still wary of her. She could feel Derek's eyes on her, waiting for her to out him. But to do that she would have to out herself as well. "You don't know how many stairs there are leading up to the loft until you fall down them," she joked lightly, but her heart beat sped up as Stiles' face became clouded with disbelief.

"And what? Someone grabs you at the bottom?"

Kara was saved from answering by a disorientated, bleary-eyed Isaac. "Where is she?" he demanded, sitting up suddenly. "Where's the girl?"

Every eye in the room turned to the curly-haired teen. Derek stepped forward, eyes narrowed.

"What girl?"

* * *

The silence was suffocating. Kara and Derek sat in the car with an unconscious Isaac in the back, who had passed out again after saying a mere six words. Kara was waiting, praying for Derek to start the car so that the hum of the engine could drown out the silence, but he was simply sitting there, the wheels in his head turning. She could almost hear his unspoken thoughts that probably mainly consisted of 'why'.

Derek gripped the steering wheel and turned his head to face Kara, who was determinedly staring straight ahead at the Hale house.

"Why didn't you tell them it was me?"

Kara feigned obliviousness. "Tell them what?"

Instead of informing her of something she already knew, Derek ignored her question and remained silent, waiting for her pretense to break. And although Kara was not one for confrontations, this was one problem she could not ignore.

"What was I supposed to say?" Kara said finally, her tone slightly sardonic. "Derek doesn't trust me so he crushed my arm and accused me of lying?"

"You did lie. Why?" Derek asked her. Kara blew out a frustrated huff, and suddenly she felt drained of any urge to be defensive. She was tired of being on the defense all the time, trying so hard to conceal what really went on inside her head.

"I'm not entirely sure. Did you ever consider that I might not entirely trust you either?"

They lapsed into silence, and this time it wasn't stifling, but Kara still had a question that burned the back of her throat, demanding to be answered.

"Why did you ask me if I was lying in the first place?" she inquired calmly.

Derek cleared his throat uncomfortably. "Peter thought that you had something to hide, and he….he made that quite clear to me the other night." Guilt and self-loathing wound itself like barbed wire around Derek's heart and squeezed. How could have been so stupid to believe Peter? He was right about Kara lying, but he had led Derek to believe that what Kara had hidden from them was a potential betrayal. Peter had manipulated Derek into interrogating her, and he had fallen for it. It was almost as though Derek had done Peter's dirty work for him and the thought made him clench his jaw in anger.

"What a dick."

Derek couldn't help but chuckle at Kara's remark, and the corner of his mouth lifted up. Kara sneaked a glance at the half smile on his face.

 _So he can smile,_ she thought, feeling oddly triumphant.

"Sorry about that," Derek said, motioning to the bruises on her arm. He looked vaguely uncomfortable, remembering that he had hurt her in order to get answers. Regret and guilt flashed in his eyes for the briefest of seconds.

"Sorry about the burn-thing," Kara replied with a faint, apologetic smile. She glanced at Derek's hand and found that all evidence of the burn was gone. Relief filled her. She still couldn't believe she had accidentally hurt him like that—it was as though her body had moved on its own accord, fueled by the power that ran through her veins.

Dread filled Kara as she realised that she didn't have as much control over her supernatural abilities as she thought she had. Kara needed to get a grip, otherwise she might just find herself becoming like her mother. Ruled by something she could not control.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **I hope you enjoyed this chapter! There will be many more to come, I have a lot planned for Kara's story :)**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

"What are you doing?"

Derek had a talent for making a question sound like an accusation. Maybe it was his tactic to get answers, but Kara found that it made her feel defensive _—_ ultimately not giving Derek what he wanted, which was an explanation. Kara knew he hated not knowing. One of the few things she was certain of about him was his need for answers, which she had learnt through simply staying at the loft. It was amazing how much you could learn about a person if you were observant enough.

Kara ignored him, and continued with her commandoes, lowering herself to the ground one arm at a time and then lifting herself back up one arm at a time.

 _One two three four one two three four—_

She let out a yelp of pain as her face smacked into the unforgiving concrete ground of Derek's loft. "Bastard," she muttered angrily, peeling herself off the floor. Derek had kicked her arm, causing it to buckle. Kara sprang to her feet and put a hand on the sore spot on her head.

"You're weak," Derek stated. Kara resisted the urge to snap at him.

"Why do you think I'm doing this then?" she asked without looking at him, proceeding with her workout. "If I'm going to survive in this godforsaken town then I need to be strong."

The werewolf before her crossed his arms. "You're going to need to be more than strong to survive in Beacon Hills. You need to learn how to fight."

This made Kara stop and look at him incredulously. "In case you haven't noticed, I'm at a severe disadvantage with all of this supernatural crap." She finally gave up on her commandoes and got up to drink from her water bottle. "And besides, how would I learn how to fight? I can't exactly walk around to the nearest taekwondo place and ask them to teach me how to defend myself against a werewolf."

Kara regretted her words as soon as she saw the 'I have an idea' light bulb appeared above Derek's head.

"I could train you," he said thoughtfully, peering at an uncertain Kara. His proposition confused her; one minute Derek was scornful and untrusting, and the next he was helpful and attentive. After they got back to the loft from the Hale house it was as if the conversation in the car had never happened. Kara had thought—foolishly, she now realised—that they were finally beginning to trust each other and go from reluctant allies to slightly less reluctant allies, but Derek had returned to his distant self. And now here he was, offering his help?

 _Hell has frozen over,_ Kara mused. She regarded Derek with furrowed brows. "Even if I was highly skilled in the art of self-defense, I'd be no match for a supernatural creature," Kara pointed out. "Unless I had something to defend myself with, like a gun," She added as an afterthought.

"You don't need a gun to defend yourself," Derek's expression turned sour, his distaste for guns evident. She thought of the small silver handgun tucked away safely in her duffel bag, and decided that she would keep the fact that she already had a gun on the down-low. The events, especially those concerning Derek and guns, that Scott had told her about were like a reflection in a bathroom mirror covered in condensation—blurry and hard to figure out. That was probably only because Kara had just barely dipped her toe into the ocean of the supernatural. Maybe once she became more experienced with werewolves and the like, a werewolf being resurrecting from the dead would not be a foreign concept to her. Maybe.

Agreeing to Derek's proposition would be Kara's chance to become more experienced. It would also give her a better chance of not winding up dead, but hey, priorities, right?

"I thought you only trained werewolves," Kara questioned, wondering how this could work out. Despite the supernatural potential residing within her, she was still human in a fight. Kara did not have super strength, unnatural speed and the ability to heal at a rapid rate.

"You wouldn't be much different." Derek shrugged. Seeing the perplexed look on Kara's face, he smirked knowingly. "I saw what you did to Peter's hand."

She winced, regretting the incident. "You saw that?"

Derek snorted, palpably not concerned with the wellbeing of his uncle. There it was again, Kara observed. For a fraction of a second Kara saw a flicker of the understanding that had occurred between them in the car—common ground between them. And for the second time it was Peter that indirectly created it; a common enemy, one might say. Although it was hard to consider Peter an enemy. He seemed more like an annoying fly to Kara, and at least for now, he wasn't worth losing sleep over.

"You might not have all of the enhancements that come with being a werewolf, but you do have a few advantages. For one, you have supernatural abilities. Plus you're smart," Derek explained, making Kara raise her eyebrows.

"What makes you think I'm smart?"

Derek rolled his eyes as if she was asking a stupid question. Ironic, considering his last statement. "You read all those books, don't you? I swear to god you've re-read at least two of them already."

A strange fluttering feeling erupted in Kara's stomach at the knowledge of Derek's observations. Sometimes she forgot how attentive people could be. She cleared her throat, willing away the thought that he had just complimented her, even if it was in his weird, dismissive way.

"I'm not exactly sure how this, er, supernatural ability of mine really works yet. The thing with Peter was an accident, and that frequency thing was easy once I got the hang of it," Kara told Derek, feeling slightly uneasy, telling him about her lack of experience with her powers. It felt like admitting a weakness.

"Then we start with basic self-defense," Derek shrugged. Kara opened her mouth to remind him that she hadn't agreed to anything yet, but she closed it when she realised that she needed this. Who else was there do train her? Scott, maybe, but Kara felt uncomfortable asking him to help her, especially since he was busy with school on top of the supernatural responsibilities he already held. It wouldn't be fair to him.

"Okay," Kara relented, shifting her weight from one foot to the other. "When do we start?"

She let out a startled yelp as she was swiftly spun around by Derek, with her arms pinned behind her by his grip. He wore an amused expression as he leant forward to speak in her ear.

"Rule number one: never let your guard down."

* * *

"I didn't know we were opening a fight club, Derek," came Isaac's voice as his eyes landed on the scene before him. Kara snorted at his remark then groaned as she was pinned down, yet again, by the experienced fighter before her. Derek offered her a hand with raised eyebrows, but she dismissed it and rose from the ground, rolling out a sore spot in her shoulder.

"That was totally your fault," Kara said to Isaac, a tired smile on her face to let him know she was teasing. It was Derek's turn to snort now.

"Maybe you should pay more attention to your attacker," he said pointedly. She pretended not to hear him as she took a huge gulp of water. It wasn't that Kara was easily distracted; she was normally quite focused, but she was tired. They had been at it for hours for the second day in a row, but Derek looked as though he could go all day. Kara's muscles were still aching from their hours of training the day before.

Kara turned to Isaac, who was pulling books out of his backpack. Homework, maybe. She wondered distantly why he wasn't at school today, but it was pointless for him to go now—the school day was nearly over.

"You're welcome to join us," she said, secretly hoping he would so that she could catch a break.

"I would, but I think I've endured enough training to last me a lifetime," Isaac sighed dramatically, and Derek rolled his eyes. "Besides, isn't Peter coming over?"

"Why would Peter be coming over?" Kara questioned instantly, gaze flickering between the two werewolves.

Isaac's expression turned to one of genuine surprise as he looked to Derek. "You haven't told her?"

"Told me what?" Kara demanded, staring accusingly at Derek.

He sighed, meeting her gaze. "There's an ancient ritual used by werewolves to obtain memories, and I called Peter to see if he could help get Isaac's memories back," Derek explained. "He'll be over in an hour."

"And you think that this is a good idea? Trusting Peter?" Kara asked in disbelief. Isaac's eyes flickered anxiously between Kara and Derek, her skepticism of the plan leaving him with doubts. He had come to admire Kara in the short time he'd known her. She exuded an aura of strength, and something else, something that made him want to trust her; he couldn't quite put his finger on it. She seemed like a different person to the girl he saw gazing out of the loft windows at the sunset on the day that she came to them. Or maybe Kara was the same person, and she had just been careful not to show that vulnerability again.

* * *

Kara was surprised that she hadn't killed Isaac yet. The kid had been pacing and pacing in front of the loft windows for what felt like hours, and she did not need to be a werewolf to feel the anxiety radiating from him. Kara readjusted her position on the couch and peered at Derek with narrowed eyes as he studied one of her books. It wasn't hers, really; it was from the library.

"You know I'm starting not to like this idea," Isaac blurted. _Finally, he speaks,_ Kara thought with an internal eye-roll. "It sounds kinda dangerous," he continued.

Isaac paused. "You know what, I definitely don't like this idea and I definitely don't like him."

"You'll be fine," Derek said, his tone dismissive.

"Does it have to be him?"

"He knows how to do it. I don't." the Alpha explained without looking at Isaac. "It'd be more dangerous if I tried doing it myself."

That was interesting. Kara had been surprised by the fact that Derek chose Peter to do the ritual; she had assumed that he could do it himself. Kara wasn't surprised, however, that he was reluctant to admit that he couldn't.

"You know Scott doesn't trust him right? And well, personally I trust Scott," Isaac fretted, attempting to keep his tone casual. Derek finally looked at him.

"Do you trust me?"

Kara picked up on the split second of hesitation in Isaac's eyes. "Yeah."

Derek nodded, satisfied.

"I still don't like him."

Kara snorted. "No one likes him."

With a sudden squeal that reverberated around the room, the loft door slid open, revealing a disgustingly cheerful Peter. "Boys. Kara," he winked in her direction, and she threw him a look of utter loathing. "FYI, yes, coming back from the dead has left my abilities somewhat impaired, but the hearing still works, so I hope you're comfortable saying whatever it is that you're feeling straight to my face," Peter said, his voice pleasant.

"We don't like you," Derek deadpanned. He snapped the book in his hand shut and tossed it on the table, where it landed with a dull thud. "Now shut up and help us."

Peter was unfazed. "Fair enough."

* * *

"Relax," Peter instructed the young werewolf sitting in the chair before him. "We'll get more out of you if you're calm."

Kara remained standing, while Derek had chosen to sit on the couch. She twisted the silver ring on her finger anxiously, a strange feeling growing in her stomach. It felt like a warning.

"How do you know how to do this again?" Isaac asked Peter, who had moved to stand behind him. Peter admired his claws with an expression that made Kara want to slap him. "It's an ancient ritual used mostly by alphas. It requires a lot of practice, one slip and you could paralyse someone…or kill them," he said casually.

Isaac spun around. "But you've had a lot of practice though, right?"

Peter shrugged. "Well, I've never paralysed anyone."

"Wait does that mean that you've never—"

He stopped short as Peter sunk his claws into the back of his neck and let out a yell. Isaac grasped onto Peter's arm, the two locked in a memory invisible to Kara and Derek. Peter's eyes flitted around the room, looking at something only he could see. Struggled breaths escaped his mouth through his teeth as his eyes turned blue and his head jerked forward. Isaac struggled in his seat, legs sprawled out in front of him, causing the chair to shift. Derek jumped up in alarm and Kara took a tentative step forward, watching the scene before her unfold with worried eyes.

"Peter," Kara warned him, eyes trained on Isaac.

"Wait, I see them," Peter said abruptly. His eyes darted around the room wildly and everything was quiet except for the short, shallow gasps coming from Isaac and the werewolf behind him. Without warning, Peter ripped his hand away from Isaac and was flung backwards into the table. Isaac violently lurched forward in his seat at the release of Peter's grip, gasping, like he had been held underwater for a minute. It was as though there was a huge invisible bubble forcing them apart. Kara stared in shock at the two, as Peter staggered off to the side of the room with heavy footsteps and Isaac gingerly raised a hand to touch the claw marks on his neck.

"What did you see?" Derek asked his uncle, who was panting.

"It was…confusing," Peter frowned, trying to make sense of what he saw. "I-images, vague shapes…"

"But you saw something," Derek pressed.

Peter looked up at his nephew in realisation. "Isaac found them."

* * *

Kara's head spun with the information Peter had relayed to them. Erica and Boyd were being held captive by Deucalion and they would be dead by the next full moon. _Tomorrow night._

A distant buzz sounded throughout the room and Kara went to reach for her phone, but stopped she realised that it was Derek's phone ringing. He answered the call with a curt 'hello' and a frown soon took over his features.

"Why do you want me to come to the school?" he asked. Kara wished she could hear the other side of the call—the person's reply was muffled and unintelligible to her ears. "It might not mean anything," Derek said dismissively.

This peaked Kara's interest even further. Derek side-eyed her, then sighed.

"Okay. I'll bring her as well," he said, ending the call. Kara raised her brows, waiting for Derek to explain what was going on, but he turned to Isaac instead.

"You okay?" Derek asked his beta, who nodded wordlessly. Kara could tell he was shaken and she felt pity for him, that he was only a teenager and had already been through so much. She tore her eyes away from Isaac.

"What was that about?" Kara asked Derek, her voice low.

"Scott wants us to go to the school. He says that he's found something that might help me find Boyd and Erica."

Some time later they found themselves standing in a classroom filled with rows of wooden desks and chairs, empty of people save for the four teenagers in there with them. Two of them Kara knew; Scott and Stiles, and two of them she had never seen before. She knew their names; one was Lydia and the other was Allison, but she did not know which girl was which. Kara regarded their soft features and glossy hair with interest. She wondered how many other teenagers were involved with the supernatural, and hoped that the numbers would remain low. Being a teenager was already hard enough without that kind of burden.

"I don't see anything," Derek stated, his arms crossed yet again as he looked at the two girls before him. Kara's mind wandered, and she stumbled upon something that she had learnt about herself when she was younger. Her mind stored an image, a permanent mental picture of people that she had met, especially those that she was frequently with. This picture would always accompany any thoughts she had about that person; it was like that was what Kara always saw them as. She had a theory that this picture was derived from a memorable moment with that person, or from something they did that struck her. The mental picture that accompanied Derek was him with folded arms and wary eyes, just as he had looked when Kara first saw him, and many other times after that. Scott's image was more gentle; it was the reassuring smile he gave her before she faced the pack. Her mother's image was quite the opposite. She had her wrists bound in chains, and there was a cry of anguish painted on her face, a deep desperation in her eyes. Kara knew what she had been saying as her brain took that snapshot. Ella had been begging her daughter to kill her. To free her.

Scott's voice snapped her back to the present. "Look again," he insisted, eyes pleading with Derek. Kara studied the odd bruises on the girls' arms. She had never seen anything like it; it was as though someone had drawn them on with a purple marker. The bruises were identical, but how did they get them?

Before Kara could ask, Derek spoke up. "How is a bruise gonna tell me where Boyd and Erica are?"

Kara knew Scott was at a loss. There was no direct connection, but Scott could feel that it meant something, that it was important.

"It's the same on both sides, exactly the same," Scott argued.

"It's nothing," Derek said stonily.

Kara only then noticed the tension between him and the taller, brown-haired girl, who regarded him with a stiff jaw. _The werewolf hunter,_ Kara realised, remembering what Scott had told her. _That's why they look like they're about to kill each other._

Kara decided it was time to intervene. "Are you sure?" she asked Derek. "I've never seen symmetrical bruises like that before. It might be a clue."

Derek stared at her in a way that told her he did not appreciate being doubted.

"Pareidolia," the other girl said suddenly. "Seeing patterns that aren't there."

Kara was surprised to hear her speak, since the whole time they had been there she'd been twisting a lock of cinnamon hair around her finger, but her words indicated that she was a lot more that just a pretty face. After no one showed any signs of understanding what she had just said, she raised her eyebrows.

"It's a subset of apophenia," she continued. Her words stirred something in Kara's mind, and she looked up in understanding at the cinnamon-haired girl.

"Seeing a pattern where no pattern exists is a 'type one' error," Kara spoke up. "But, a 'type two' error, which is not seeing a pattern where a pattern exists, can be much more dangerous. It's better to perceive danger where none is present than to miss out on clues that danger _is_ actually present."

Kara never thought she would miss psychology class (or any class for that matter), but it had been her favourite subject in high school. The girl regarded her with a sort of interested appreciation, and Kara resisted the urge to shrink under her gaze.

Scott turned to Derek. "They're trying to help," he said quietly, referring to the two girls, still holding out their bruised arms.

"These two?" Derek said, his eyes wide. Kara could sense his frustration, and couldn't help but think that he was only refusing to believe that the bruises could mean something because he did not trust the girls. Even when Scott did.

"This one," Derek said, voice acidic, pointing at the shorter girl. "Who used me to resurrect my psychotic uncle. Thank you."

 _Peter_ , Kara thought. So that's how he came back from the dead.

"And this one," he motioned to the brown-haired girl, who narrowed her eyes at him. "Who shot about thirty arrows into me and my pack."

Scott's eyelids fluttered shut for a second, exasperated by Derek.

"Okay, alright, come on," Stiles' voice startled Kara; she had almost forgotten he was here. "No one died, alright? Look, they maybe have been a little maiming, a little mangling, but no death. That's what I call an important distinction."

Derek glared at him, silently telling him to shut up.

"My mother died," the hunter reminded Derek. His face turned even stonier, if possible.

"Your family's little honour code killed your mother, not me," he said.

Kara's eyes widened a fraction. She would have to ask Scott about that, as well as how one of the seemingly innocent teenage girls managed to raise a werewolf from the dead. Maybe later, when Scott didn't look like he was about to burst from frustration.

"That girl was looking for Scott. I'm here to help him, not you," the tall girl said.

"You wanna help? Find something real," Derek stalked off, leaving Scott feeling dejected. He needed Derek to see that this could be a clue. They needed each other's help. Scott went after Derek, stopping him before he could reach the door.

Kara couldn't help but cast the brown haired girl a pitying gaze, and then she realised that she still didn't know which one was Allison and which was Lydia.

"What are your names?" she asked the two girls. It seemed odd, asking that question now, after Kara had already learnt things about them that you usually only learnt after being friends for a while. They looked surprised for a moment before the taller girl cleared her throat. "I'm Allison, and this is Lydia," she gestured to the girl standing next to her, who gave a half-hearted wave.

After a moment, Kara realised that she hadn't introduced herself.

"I'm—"

"—Kara," Lydia finished for her. "Stiles told me," she added, looking at Kara's surprised face.

"Oh."

The sound of a classroom door shutting alerted them to Derek's departure. Kara sighed, then looked at the girls with a small smile, as if to apologise on Derek's behalf. She supposed she could see why he was reluctant to trust them, but it was unwise to dismiss a possible clue. Especially if he wanted to find the rest of his pack members before the full moon.

"I'll try to talk to him," Kara promised Scott on her way out of the classroom, and he nodded, grateful.

* * *

Figuring that Derek needed time to cool off before she spoke to him, Kara did not disturb the silence in his car as they drove back to his place. Even after they climbed the many stairs and reached the loft, Kara could sense that any conversation between them would still not end well, so she picked up her library books, save for the one with the 'Grivas Family History', and decided to return them early.

Driving back from the library in her car, alone for a change, Kara felt like she could finally think. Doubt started niggling at her thoughts. Was she making a mistake by believing that those bruises had something to do with Boyd and Erica? Would it come back to bite her in the ass if she found out that it was meaningless? The longer she thought about it, the more she started to lean towards Derek's point of view. They might just be bruises after all. They could be wasting time trying to figure out if it was some kind of clue, or symbol, while the real answer was right in front of them.

Kara pulled into a parking space outside the building of the loft and sat there for a moment, not ready to go in. She needed to stop thinking about those goddamn bruises for a moment, and start paying more attention to other paths that might lead them to Erica and Boyd's location. Like Isaac's memories, which were yet to be fully recovered.

As if on cue, Kara's phone vibrated. A text from Scott.

 _Meet me after school at the Vet Clinic. Derek will know where it is. Might have found a way to get Isaac's memories back._

The Vet? Why on earth would they take Isaac there? Kara sighed at the loss of her rare moment of peace and got out of her car to deliver the news.

* * *

If the ice bath was as cold as it looked, then it was deadly. Kara folded her arms to try and retain some body heat as Derek and Scott filled the bathtub with ice, a sound like heavy rain reverberating around the room. She wasn't sure if it was just her imagination, but the temperature seemed to have dropped a few degrees.

Kara caught Stiles looking at her oddly. She raised an eyebrow and he cleared his throat uncomfortably. "Why are you here?" he asked her, trying to sound casual.

"Moral support," Kara replied, and her tone was so neutral that Stiles couldn't tell if she was joking or not. She grabbed a bag of ice and started emptying the contents into the silver tub before Stiles could get a word in.

"Obviously it's not going to be particularly comfortable," she heard Deaton say to Isaac, and she suppressed a snort. That was the understatement of the year. She was still deciding on whether or not she could trust the vet, even if Scott did. Just because he was a friend of Scott's didn't mean he was a friend of hers.

"But if we can slow your heart rate down enough, you'll slip into a trance-like state," Deaton continued, his voice pleasant. Kara threw her now empty plastic bag into a corner of the room and stepped back, hands on her hips, watching Isaac's face carefully. "Like…being hypnotised?" Isaac asked, and Deaton nodded encouragingly.

The pair moved to stand in front of the bath as Deaton explained the process. Kara wasn't quite sure she understood it herself—as far as she was concerned, it sounded sketchy. How did they know it would work? What would happen if it didn't? Kara didn't think they had any other options, and she wasn't so keen on trying to find out what those bruises meant. This seemed more real, more tangible. More likely to give them answers.

"Exactly," Deaton answered. "You'll be half-transformed."

Kara's eyebrows shot up. Deaton's words made her think of her mother, with her glowing eyes and frantic words. Kara swallowed uneasily. If half-transformed was what her mother had become, then she wasn't sure she wanted to witness this. But her feet wouldn't move, and the vet kept talking. "It will let us access your subconscious mind."

That eased Kara's doubts a bit. Isaac would have to be calm for Deaton to do that, wouldn't he?

Isaac kneeled down to fold his arms on the steel rim of the tub, his eyes studying the icy water. "How slow does his heart rate have to be?" Scott asked, the concern in his voice evident. Deaton didn't hesitate to answer. "Very slow."

"How slow is very slow?" Derek questioned, voicing Kara's thoughts.

"Nearly dead," Deaton said casually, as if he were talking about his opinion on the weather that day. Everyone looked at him in disbelief, with eyebrows raised and wide eyes. Isaac dipped a hand into the bath water and recoiled at the hostile water.

"It's safe though right?" he asked Deaton, the uncertainty clear in his voice and on his face.

"Do you want me to answer honestly?" the vet asked.

A grim expression set itself on Isaac's face. "No, no not really."

A loud snap drew everyone's attention to Stiles, who was holding up a hand covered in a surgeon's glove. "What?" he asked, oblivious to the reason behind their irritated stares. Derek gave him a pointed look, silently daring him to be more annoying. Stiles lowered his arm hastily and shrugged off the rubber glove. Isaac rose from his kneeling position and took a deep breath, gazing down at the frigid water.

Derek sensed his hesitation. "If it feels too risky then you don't have to do it," he said, and Scott nodded in agreement. Isaac deliberated for a moment more, before pulling his shirt over his head with new determination. He took another deep breath, preparing himself for his next move, and then swung a leg into the icy water. Gripping the steel rim with white knuckles, he lowered himself further into the bath, and Kara winced as he gasped from the change in temperature. She felt cold just looking at him. Scott and Derek positioned their hands on Isaac's shoulders and chest, and with a look of confirmation from Deaton, they pressed down on Isaac, plunging him into the frigid water. Water rose up from the bath and gushed out like a tidal wave, and Kara jumped back to avoid getting wet.

For a moment it looked as though Isaac had passed out, but Kara found out that that was not the case when he lurched up from beneath the surface of the water, his face transformed by fangs and amber eyes. He let out a guttural roar as he struggled against the grip on his shoulders. Stiles and Kara rushed forward to help hold him under, and Isaac disappeared beneath the water again. He thrashed violently and Kara found herself, much to her displeasure, pressing harder on his chest, struggling to keep him under. It felt wrong, so wrong—a deep immoral discomfort set itself in her stomach as a result of what she was doing. She was, quite literally, drowning the boy.

"Hold him," Deaton commanded when Isaac gained the upper hand for a moment and resurfaced.

"We're trying!" Derek insisted, his eyes wide with frustration. They struggled to hold the thrashing werewolf under, until finally, he stilled. Kara watched as Isaac floated to the surface, his eyes shut and face pale with cold. It felt eerie, somehow.

Deaton held up a finger, asking for silence. "Now remember, only I talk to him."

Kara kept her hands at the edge of the bathtub, as did Derek and Scott, in case they needed to restrain him again. Deaton moved closer to the bathtub and fixed his gaze on the pale boy. "Isaac," he started, watching the werewolf carefully. "Can you hear me?"

"Yes," Isaac muttered, small tremors moving through his body from the cold. "I can hear you."

"This is Doctor Deaton. I'd like to ask you a few questions. Is that alright?"

Isaac gave the slightest of nods.

"I want to ask you about the night you found Erica and Boyd. I want you to remember it for me in as vivid detail as possible," the vet instructed. "Like you're actually there again."

Deaton's words must have triggered something in Isaac's memory because he shook his head definitely. "I-I don't wanna do that," he stuttered, panic evident in his voice. Thunder rumbling outside, and Kara's head snapped up when the lights in the room began to flicker. "I don't want to do that," Isaac insisted, his body shifting uncomfortably in the bathtub.

"Isaac, it's alright. Just relax," Deaton soothed. "They're just memories, you can't be hurt by them."

"I don't want to do that!"

A loud, startling buzz erupted from Kara's pocket. Her stomach dropped at the sound, which was causing Isaac to become more frantic with each buzz. It was her phone! But who the hell would be ringing? Deaton gave Kara a pointed look that told her to turn it off, and she fumbled to wipe her hands on her jeans before handling the phone. Kara went to decline the call, but saw the 'no caller ID' and froze. The last time she had gotten a call from a private caller…..

 _Oh my god,_ Kara realised, then looked up with wide, apologetic eyes, hoping they would understand that she had to take the call. She slipped out of the room before anyone could protest, hands shaking violently and her mind spinning.

Why now? Why was _he_ calling her now?

 _You don't know if it's him or not,_ Kara rationalised as she accepted the call hastily. She was outside of the Vet clinic now, and unable to see what was going on inside. Kara peered in through the glass door, hoping to catch a glimpse of Isaac and the others when a gravelly voice spoke in her ear.

"Hello, Kara."

Somehow she didn't drop her phone in surprise. "Now's not really a good time, so unless you're ready to answer the questions that I had last time then I'm done talking to you," Kara spat, growing more confident with each word.

"Now, that's no way to greet an old friend. Think of everything I've done for you!"

Part of that was a lie. Kara had no idea who this man was, and the fact that they had spoken once before did not make them friends. It could be a woman, she supposed, since the voice was obviously computer generated. But for what purpose? To make sure that Kara didn't recognise the voice? A sudden chill rolled down Kara's spine. Maybe she did know this person after all.

The second part of it was, as much as Kara hated to admit it, true. This mystery person had helped her in the past.

After all, they had been the reason why Kara came to Beacon Hills. The reason why she had sought out Derek Hale.

"What do you want?" Kara asked, attempting to keep the hostility out of her voice.

The person on the other end of the call clucked their tongue disapprovingly.

"Young lady, haven't I already told you to watch your tone? I hear your mother used to say the same thing. She always hated it when you spoke with such ferocity in your voice. Said it made her headaches worse."

Tears stung her eyes at the mention of Ella. "How do you know that stuff about her?" she demanded, a sick feeling crawling through her. The computer generated voice gave a small, dismissive laugh. "That's not important, but I think the answers to your questions are, aren't they?"

Kara swallowed uneasily. Was she really about to listen to this stranger, a person who had just told her something she thought only she knew about? _Yes,_ Kara decided. They had not led her astray in telling her to come to Beacon Hills.

"Go on," she prompted when the stranger fell silent. There was a long pause, but Kara could hear the faint rustling of something, which let her know that the other line had not gone dead.

"You'll get your answers if you meet two of my colleagues on Pine Street, near the Library. I'll give you the time. Don't be late."

And with that, the call ended.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **Who do you think the mystery caller could be? Let me know what you think of the story so far, constructive criticism is always welcome :)**

 **Thanks for reading!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

No one asked her about the call, not even Stiles, who had to fill her in on what Isaac had remembered. They were too preoccupied with the current dilemma.

"She's not dead!" Derek insisted.

A dead girl. A bank vault. A new werewolf. Kara stood with her arms folded and eyebrows knitted together, trying to absorb everything they now knew about Erica and Boyd's whereabouts, as well as the conversation she'd had with the mystery stranger. A horrible feeling crawled down her spine. What if the pack found out about Kara's 'old friend'? What if they found out about what she had done to get to Beacon Hills? She could be considered unreliable, or even a threat.

"Derek, he said there's a dead body. It's Erica. It doesn't exactly leave us much room for interpretation," Stiles reasoned, and Kara found herself reluctant to agree. Even though the facts were there and she trusted what Isaac saw, there was still a part of her that hoped they were both alive, if only to strengthen Derek's pack. A pack of two people was not much at all—and Kara needed all the help she could get.

"Then who was in the vault with Boyd?" Derek argued, adamant that his beta was still alive. To him, it didn't make sense for her to be dead.

"Someone else, obviously," Stiles answered.

"Maybe it was the girl on the motorcycle," Scott chipped in, taking his best friend's side. "The one who saved you," he continued, turning to Isaac.

"No, she wasn't like us, and whoever was in the vault with Boyd was," Isaac remarked, his voice quiet and thoughtful. He still seemed a bit dazed from the whole nearly freezing to death thing.

"How many other werewolves are there around here anyway? Could it be someone you guys know?" Kara pressed. While they did not entirely understand the alpha pack's motives yet, it was clear that they had taken interest in the werewolves of Beacon Hills, even more so in Derek's pack.

The thought worried Kara. What would it mean for her if the alpha pack went after Derek?

Scott shook his head in answer. "I don't think so, unless there was a werewolf here that we didn't know of."

Everyone paused at the use of the word 'was'. Whoever they were, they would probably be dead soon.

"What if that's like how Erica died?" Stiles broke the silence. "They pit them against each other during the full moon to see which one survives. It's like werewolf Thunderdome!"

 _Thunderdome,_ Kara thought with an internal eye roll. _Really, Stiles?_

"Then we get them out tonight," Derek said with clear determination.

"Be smart about this Derek," came the Vet's voice from behind them. "You can't just go storming in."

"If Isaac got in then so can we."

"But he didn't get through a vault door, did he."

Scott stepped forward, glancing between Derek and Deaton.

"We need a plan," he said pointedly, indicating that Derek's impulsive behaviour wouldn't do Boyd and Erica any good.

"How are we going to come up with a plan to break into a _bank vault_ in less than twenty-four hours?" was Derek's defensive reply. Kara felt a twinge of annoyance. It was frustrating trying to communicate with someone who always doubted everything and resorted to acting on impulse.

"Uh, I think someone already did," Stiles said hurriedly, eyes glued to his phone. "'Beacon Hills First National Bank closes its doors three months after vault robbery'. Doesn't say here how it was robbed, but it probably wouldn't take long to find out."

"How long?" Derek demanded, and Stiles scoffed.

"It's the internet, Derek, okay? Minutes."

* * *

It did not, as it turned out, take minutes to find everything on the internet. Kara, Derek, Isaac and even Peter were still waiting for a message from Scott and Stiles the next morning, so Kara and Derek had resorted to training. It helped them both—Kara with developing her skills, and Derek with giving himself something useful to do.

Many hours later, when Kara's muscles burned with exhaustion, they sent out Peter to get food. It gave them a break from his snide remarks—which Kara had somehow managed to ignore all day—that set Derek's teeth on edge and made him accidentally hit Kara a little harder than intended, giving her a lovely purple bruise on her arm. She had not been pleased about that.

"You need to keep your arms up, and legs spread apart. You'll be dead in two seconds flat if you aren't balanced and your face is uncovered," Derek instructed Kara for what felt like the millionth time. She automatically raised her arms up to her face and shuffled her feet outwards, the action now familiar to her. Kara narrowed her eyes and tensed her body, limbs ready to spring into action at the slightest movement from Derek.

And suddenly he was advancing forwards, his limbs a blur of movement, and Kara ducked as an arm was swung over her head. She sprang back up and blocked a punch aimed at her head. Holding tight onto Derek's arm, she shoved it down and thrust an elbow at his face. Surprise took hold of Derek's features and for a fleeting moment, she thought that maybe, just maybe, she'd be able to pin him this time. But then Derek ducked and caught her around the waist, using her momentum from the failed elbow thrust to propel her to the ground.

Kara let out a groan of frustration—she thought she'd had him. Derek wore an amused expression as he leant over her, adding fuel to the fire, which was why when Kara suddenly lurched upwards from the concrete, her kick to the back of Derek's knee was powerful enough to send him tumbling to the ground. She leapt forward to catch hold of his arm and twist it upwards, her knee pressed to his neck so that he couldn't escape. She grinned triumphantly.

After that incident, Kara doubled her efforts in her training, something she had not thought possible. But there was a renewed energy in her body and it was lighting her blood on fire, the feeling so powerful that Kara knew it had to be her supernatural ability keeping her muscles moving with such force that even Derek was surprised by it. The surprise did not last long, though; Derek quickly doubled his efforts and Kara was unable to beat him again—though it was not for lack of trying. Their sparring quickly captivated the attention of Isaac, who watched on with wide eyes as they became a blur of movement, fighting together and fighting each other at the same time. Each time one of them moved to strike, the other danced just out of reach.

There was a buzz of exhilaration flowing through Derek's veins. He found himself actually grinning as he ducked under one of Kara's blows and realised that he was _enjoying_ this. It was different now; he didn't have to hold back as much, and he felt a small thrill every time Kara nearly placed a well-aimed blow. She radiated a startling fierceness through her actions and look of concentration, but there was something else there, something that turned her into a dangerous whirlwind. Something supernatural, fueling the force in her body.

Distracted by his thoughts, Derek momentarily forgot to hold back and struck out harder than he'd meant to. His blow caught her in the nose and for a second his heart froze as she stumbled back, a hand clutching her face. But then Kara steadied herself, and her face became set in a fierce glare. Her nose dripped blood, but she didn't seem to notice; her determined gaze was locked on Derek. Kara advanced towards him and in a flash she swung her leg up and out, kicking him squarely in the chest. Derek staggered backwards and nearly regained his balance when his body suddenly seemed to become as heavy as lead, pulling him to the ground.

Kara stared at him in shock. She hadn't even realised that she had thrust out her hands to push him down until he was falling. But how did that happen if Kara didn't even touch him?

She looked down at her hands, palms facing up. Kara could feel a faint buzz in her hands now that she was still, as though there was electricity crackling beneath the skin. The feeling was oddly comforting, and it was a reminder that she had one constant in her ever-changing life.

Her supernatural ability.

Derek's huff of exertion as he sprang from the floor snapped Kara's attention back from her wandering thoughts.

"Are you okay?" she asked cautiously. To her surprise, Derek grinned in answer. Kara didn't know what she had been expecting his reaction to her victory to be like, but it wasn't this.

"You're bleeding," he stated, and Kara's hand instantly flew up to her face. She swiped at the area under her nose and her fingers came away red and sticky.

A snort came from behind Kara and she turned around, startled to see Isaac sitting on the couch. She had forgotten he was here, watching them train.

"It takes a lot more than that to keep us down," Isaac said with a slight smirk, nodding in Derek's direction.

"Oh, then I guess you'd like to go next?" Kara asked, quirking her brow. That wiped the smirk from Isaac's face.

She turned to Derek, who was now leaning over a map sprawled across the table.

"I think I used my powers just then. To make you fall, I mean."

Derek nodded thoughtfully. "Yeah, I could feel it."

They fell into silence after that, and Kara wanted to break it, to ask questions, but she didn't have the right words to tell Derek that she still didn't know how she had channelled her powers like that. Kara was scared that they would remain a mystery her, never controlled and always hard to reach.

"I still don't know how I did it." The words spilt out of her mouth before she could stop them and Kara winced at the vulnerability in her voice. It made her sound like a child.

"Maybe it's like werewolf powers," came Isaac's suggestion. "Your powers come to you when you're angry, or when you're fighting. At least until you know how to control them."

Kara frowned at his suggestion, and although it was a good one, she did not want her powers to be the result of anger. She wanted to be able to use them when she could so that she could actually defend herself in a fight. That frequency trick wasn't going to be the thing to keep her alive.

Or was it?

"Derek?"

"Hm?"

"How much did it hurt when I used the frequency thing on you?"

Derek looked slightly taken aback, and he frowned, suddenly not sure of where this was going. "Well, it wasn't pleasant," he deadpanned.

"But it was bearable?" Kara pressed and Derek nodded in answer.

"What if I...modify it slightly?"

Derek's confused expression abruptly turned to one of understanding, and he scowled at Kara. "You want to test your powers on me."

"I'll try not to make it hurt too much," Kara said, and Derek rolled his eyes at her pretence that he had already agreed to be her guinea pig.

"This should be good," Isaac muttered.

Before any of them could make a move, the loft door squealed open. Kara rolled her eyes. Of course Peter had to walk in when she was about to do something important. It wasn't as though Kara couldn't attempt to practice her abilities; Peter would not stop her. He had no reason to. But the thought of him watching her while she was so vulnerable, even though he might not know it, made her skin crawl horribly.

It would have to wait.

"Chinese food, as requested," Peter announced in a bored manner, setting down a plastic bag filled with plastic containers of noodles and dumplings on the table. The warm, sweet scent of the food wafted over to Kara and her stomach grumbled, but Isaac was the first one to reach the table. He eagerly rifled through the bag, but abruptly stopped short once he realised that he was hogging the food. He turned his face, pink with embarrassment, to an amused Kara, and muttered a sheepish, "Sorry."

Kara waved a hand dismissively, a gesture for him to go first. _Teenage boys,_ she thought, but it was not without fondness. It had been so long since anything as pure as Isaac—or Scott, for that matter—had been present in her life. It was refreshing, in an odd sort of way. It reminded her that there was good in the world—even if it came in the form of an eager, sometimes annoying adolescent with an appetite bigger than all of Beacon Hills put together.

"It's nearly five," Derek announced. Without the distraction of training, they were reminded again of the task at hand, and so the wait resumed.

* * *

"Okay!" Stiles announced as he unfolded a large piece of paper onto the table everyone was crowded around. Kara leant in, peering curiously at what appeared to be a map of the Beacon Hills Bank.

"See this? This is how they got in," Stiles motioned to a spot on the map with a red marker. "It's a rooftop air-conditioning vent that leads down inside to the wall of the vault which is here, okay?"

He drew a hasty red circle around a spot on the map and looked up to see if everyone was still following his words. "One of the robbers was lowered into this shaft, but that space is so small that it took about twelve hours to drill into that wall, which is stone, by the way. Then throughout the rest of the night, they syphoned the cash back up to the guys on the roof, through that one little shaft in the wall. Boom!" Stiles finished his explanation with another red circle and a bang on the table for emphasis.

 _Twelve hours?_ Kara frowned to herself. _We don't have twelve hours to get into that bank vault._

"Can we even fit in there?" Scott asked his best friend.

"Yes we can, but very very barely, and they also patched up the wall obviously, so we're gonna need a drill of some kind. I'm thinking maybe a diamond bit—"

Derek rolled his eyes. "Forget the drill."

Stiles paused, his lips pursed together. "Sorry?"

"If I go in first how much space do I have?" Derek questioned without looking up, his green eyes trained on the map. Stiles swung his head around to give Scott an incredulous look. _Can you believe this guy?_ His face said, but Scott only shrugged, and Kara's mouth quirked up into a half-smile. Watching the interactions between Derek and Stiles was, as Kara had discovered, pretty amusing. At least to her.

"What do you—what do you think you're gonna do, Derek?" Stiles asked in a disbelieving tone. "You're gonna punch through the wall?"

Derek sighed, then turned to face him with folded arms. He smiled sarcastically.

"Yes, Stiles, I'm gonna punch through the wall."

Kara couldn't tell if he was joking or not.

"Okay big guy let's see it, let's see that fist, big ol' fist, make it come on." Stiles encouraged Derek, who looked as though he was ready to snap the teenager's neck. Kara side-eyed Scott, who didn't look fazed, as if this was a normal occurrence.

"Get it out there, don't be scared," Stiles continued as Derek slowly raised a fist, jaw clenched with annoyance. "Big bad wolf, yeah look at that."

Stiles wrapped one of his hands around Derek's wrist and then placed the other on top of Derek's hand. "Okay, see this? That's maybe three inches of room to gather enough force to punch through solid—"

Stiles was cut off, yet again, as Derek punched the teenager's outstretched hand without even blinking. Kara's eyes widened as Stiles fell back onto the table with a loud bang, struggling not to vocalise his pain. He staggered off to the side, clutching his hand to his chest.

Kara raised her eyebrows at Derek, as if to ask, _was that really necessary?_

"He can do it," came Stiles' strained voice.

"I'll get through the wall," Derek assured them. "Who's following me down?"

Silence. Kara looked at Derek, uncertainty tainting her face like clouds rolling in to block the sun's rays. She hadn't thought about who was going with Derek into the vault and with a sudden jolt she realised that they were at a severe disadvantage. Besides Scott, who was there to go with Derek? Peter had said that his abilities were impaired, Stiles was human, and Kara—Kara didn't know where she stood. Did she have enough experience to fight, or at least defend herself?

 _Of course not,_ she thought with an inward sigh. _Those werewolves would probably tear me to shreds if they got the chance._

"Don't look at me," Peter's voice broke the silence. "I'm not up to fighting speed yet."

Meaning: I don't want to get myself killed.

"And honestly?" Peter continued, his voice cynical as ever. "With Isaac out of commission, you're not looking at very good odds for yourself."

"So I'm supposed to just let them die?"

"One of them is already dead."

Derek's eyes fluttered closed for a fraction of a second, his uncle's words paining him. "We don't _know_ that," He insisted.

"Do I have to remind you what we're up against here? A pack of alphas, all of them killers. And if that's not enough to scare the testicles back into your stomach, try to remember that two of them combine bodies to form one giant alpha," Derek's uncle said. "I'm sure Erica and Boyd were sweet kids and they will be missed."

"Can someone kill him again, please," Stiles said loudly, earning him a glare from Peter.

"Gladly," Kara muttered. What the hell was he trying to do, scare them? They knew the risks already—didn't they?

"Derek. Seriously, not worth the risk," Peter said, folding his arms.

Derek appeared unfazed by his uncle's words, but Kara knew, she knew that it had to hurt having the only family you had left completely abandon you. Derek was still human. He was not exempt from feeling.

"What about you?"

Stiles shrugged, thinking that Derek was asking him. "I mean yeah, if you want me to come—"

"Not you," the alpha rolled his eyes.

Stiles jerked his thumb in Scott's direction. "Scott, right."

"I don't know about Erica," the young werewolf said, his voice unusually quiet. "But if Boyd's still alive then we have to do something. We have to try."

The quiet determination in Scott's voice made something in Kara shift, unearthing a sudden urge, a sudden _need_ to help, like it was her duty to protect those kids just because she could. Kara remembered her mum's painful voice, crying out for her baby to save her while Kara sat with her hands over her ears, trying to drown out the knowledge that there was nothing that could be done. But this time there was. The realisation filled Kara with a sense of purpose that reached every single nerve in her body.

If Kara had anything to do with it, no one would die tonight.

"I'm coming too," Kara announced. To her surprise, her statement was met with an incredulous look from Derek.

"You'll just get yourself killed," he told her.

"I can take care of myself. Besides, by the sounds of things you need all the help you can get. I'm just holding up my end of the deal."

"You can't hold up your end of the deal if you're dead."

"Kara…maybe Derek's right," Scott said uneasily. Kara snapped her head towards him, daring him to tell her she shouldn't go.

"I've—we've never faced anything like this before, and we only just barely survived the last…" Scott trailed off, looking for the right word.

"Supernatural abomination," Stiles offered.

"The Kanima," Kara said glumly, not wanting to accept defeat. She debilitated for a moment, and even though her eyes were downcast she could feel the others' burning gaze on her. What if she was in over her head? What if she did get herself killed the moment she stepped into the bank? What if she got herself into trouble and just caused more problems?

"Fine. I'll sit this one out," Kara relented, and a sick feeling crawled through her as she realised she'd failed the people she had vowed to protect only seconds ago.

* * *

"And why wait around for the full moon, huh? Why not just kill them whenever they want to?" Stiles voiced his thoughts, his voice speeding up with each word.

Kara sighed quietly. Frustration clawed at her brain and made her teeth grind together. They had been stuck waiting around her for what felt like an eternity, and it was starting to take its toll on Kara.

"Maybe they think it's poetic," Peter Hale said with his eyes closed.

Kara glared at him. "Or maybe they need them for something."

"They've had three full moons to use them for something," Stiles argued.

"And here you've only had one full hour to be so annoy—" Peter stopped, his eyes opening suddenly.

"No, go ahead finish what you were saying. I'm annoying, I'm—"

"What are the walls made of?" Peter asked, getting up from his position on the couch for the first time since Derek and Scott left. Stiles craned his head around to look at the walls of the loft. "I dunno, like wood and—"

"No, the vault, the bank, what are the walls made out of?"

Kara flicked through the pages of the bank map. "It doesn't say anything here."

Peter turned to Stiles. "Where would it say the materials, the type of stone?"

"Oh! Hang on," Stiles hastily pulled out a pile of papers from his backpack and handed it to Peter. Kara frowned as Peter flicked through the pages, his pace increasing with each page he turned. Why did he suddenly want to know what the walls were made of? Did he think that Derek wouldn't be able to get through them?

"There, that's it!" Stiles jabbed a finger at the page they were on.

"Hecatolite," Peter murmured.

"Is that awful? That sounds awful," Stiles remarked.

"Isn't that a mineral?" Kara asked.

Peter's eyes went wide as he looked up at them. "Get Scott and Derek on the phone. Now!"

"Okay, why?" Stiles asked as he fumbled for his phone.

"Because Boyd and that girl aren't going to kill each other. They're going to kill Derek and Scott."

Scott picked up on the first ring. "Now's not really the best time Stiles."

"Scott! Scott no listen to me okay, look you've gotta get out of there. The walls of the vault are made of a mineral called Hecatolite—it scatters the moonlight."

"What does that mean?"

A growl emanated in the background and Kara's jaw clenched. She hated waiting here while Derek and Scott were risking their lives. She felt useless.

"Look it keeps the moonlight out okay they haven't felt the full moon in months!" Stiles explained frantically. Peter leant closer to the phone.

"Think of it like the gladiators in the Roman coliseum. They used to starve the lions for three days, making them more vicious, more out of control. Deucalion has kept them from shifting for three full moons, diminishing their tolerance to it."

"Scott?" Stiles brought the phone closer to his face. "Hey, Scott!"

Stiles looked up to Kara and Peter with wide eyes, and suddenly the weight of the situation hit Kara like a truckload of books. Scott and Derek were the gladiators in the coliseum and they were going to die in that vault.

"I'm going after them," Kara said, starting towards the door before she could be stopped. She patted her jean pocket, making sure that her car keys were there, and threw open the loft door. She left without as much as a backwards glance.

"Kara, wait!" Stiles protested, but his words had no target. Kara was already gone.

* * *

The double doors that guarded the bank entrance loomed over her, making her feel like she was facing the gates of something sinister. Those doors might have been there to keep Kara out, but to her it felt like their purpose was to make sure that whatever hid inside the bank stayed inside. Glancing at the severed chains loosely wrapped around the door handle, she realised that these doors no longer served any purpose at all. Distantly she wondered who had dismantled the chains. Whoever they were, she supposed she'd meet them soon.

Kara pushed open the doors and crept inside. She trod lightly, as if afraid that the floor would crumble underneath her. A damp, musty smell invaded her nostrils as she glanced around the interior of the abandoned bank. A layer of dust covered nearly every available surface, and there was a mess of upturned furniture littering the floor. Kara frowned at a lighting fixture that had somehow ended up on the ground, before making her way down a corridor that would hopefully lead her to the bank vault. A distant, low growl echoed through the bank and Kara's eyes widened. She was getting closer. The further she crept, the more shouts and growls she could hear. The noises struck every nerve in her body and soon her pulse was racing with fear of the unknown.

Kara's heart just about leapt into her throat when two blurred figures darted past her, their speed sending a gust of wind that swept back her hair. She jumped back to flatten herself against the wall, but the two figures took no notice of her.

She stayed in her position against the wall, heart thumping with shock, until she was sure whoever that was had disappeared. Realising that she could no longer hear any growling, Kara set off at a jog towards the direction the strangers had come from.

As she turned a corner, Kara laid eyes on three people standing outside the infamous bank vault. She caught sight of Scott, who had a chin stained with blood, then Derek, facing a girl who looked oddly familiar even though her back was to Kara. It was Allison, Kara realised. But what was she doing here?

Derek was the first to spot her. His face softened with surprise and then hardened again at the realisation of what she had done. Of what she had risked. Kara didn't think that her safety mattered much to Derek, but the anger on his face said otherwise.

"What are you doing here?" he demanded, drawing the others' attention to Kara.

"The two people that just ran past me," Kara said, ignoring Derek's question. "Where they Boyd and Erica?"

Scott's face fell. "Not Erica. The other werewolf is—"

"—Cora." Derek interrupted. "My little sister."

Kara frowned. She didn't think Derek had any family left other than Peter, but was it possible that Derek didn't know that his sister was alive? But his sister _was_ alive, and she was the one with Boyd, meaning that Erica was not. Kara swallowed at the realisation.

She knew that Derek knew Erica was dead. His face might have been guarded like a maximum security prison cell, but his eyes were left unprotected. Open.

Kara didn't have to wonder what Derek was doing when he turned to leave the bank vault.

Sighing quietly, Kara's gaze fell on Scott and Allison, who looked close to tears. Kara stepped outside the vault and pulled out her phone to call Stiles, wanting to give the two teenagers privacy. After Boyd and Cora had escaped, she had heard shouting—something about Allison's family.

"Stiles? It's Kara," she said, pressing the phone to her ear.

"Oh thank god," came Stiles' response. "Are they—"

"Alive? Yeah. Turns out that Derek has a little sister and she was the one in the vault with Boyd, but they escaped."

"Shit."

Kara snuck a glance at the two teenagers talking as she explained what she knew to Stiles. She could hear snippets of their conversation—Scott explaining what Allison's mother had done to him and why he didn't tell her. Kara's heart gave a painful jolt when she realised that Allison's mother had died. She was surprised by the knowledge as well—something about the way that Allison dressed, the way she carried herself and how her face seemed to radiate a self-assured kind of confidence suggested that she had everything figured out. It made her seem untouchable. A pinprick of shame stung Kara's eyes. She had been startled to find out that Allison had suffered the loss of her mother because she looked as though nothing could ever hurt her.

Kara, of all people, should have known that most of the suffering happens on the inside.

"I'll see you later," Kara said into the phone, before ending the call. Her eyes flitted up to Derek, who was carrying a body and a heavy look on his face. The weight of loss seemed to drag him down, pulling on every muscle in his body until it became hard to lift his feet off the ground.

Kara cried out as a shrill, screeching wail pierced through her brain, dragging white-hot daggers of pain across her skull. She pressed her hands to her ears in an attempt to block out the noise, but the wailing continued, reaching tendrils of agony into her mind. As soon as it had begun, the noise ceased and Kara was left with a dull ringing in her ears. Without realising it she had crouched down to curl in on herself, and when she straightened up she was met with looks of alarm from people who weren't covering their ears or crouching on the floor. People who weren't affected by the wailing noise.

"Did you—did any of you hear that?" Kara asked with wide eyes.

"What was it?" Scott asked, urgency evident in his voice. "What did you hear?"

"It sounded like…someone screaming. A girl."

Derek and Scott shared a look, and Kara glanced between the two.

"What? What is it?"

"Lydia," Derek answered grimly.

"But she lives nowhere near here. How did you hear her scream?" Allison questioned.

"I have no idea." Kara closed her eyes, replaying the faint memory of the scream in her mind. It had sounded so urgent, so fear-filled and desperate that it had actually _hurt_ Kara's head. She'd never heard anyone scream like that before.

 _Well,_ Kara thought tiredly. _There's a first time for everything._


	7. Chapter 7

TW: Mentions of suicide

 **Chapter 7**

A headache had managed to grip Kara's mind, a rope wound tightly around her thoughts. It had formed abruptly after she had heard the girl—Lydia—screaming. She untied her hair with a quiet sigh, hoping to relieve some of the pressure.

"We need to go," Derek told Scott with an unusually heavy voice. The image of finding Erica's lifeless body slumped against the storage shelves would be forever ingrained in his mind, a constant reminder of his loss. A constant reminder of his failure. It was his responsibility to protect his Beta and he had failed.

A grim determination set itself in Derek's mind. He hadn't been able to save Erica from death, but he would not let the same fate meet Boyd and Cora.

Scott nodded, a hand still clutching his stomach. "We need to catch them before they..."

He didn't need to finish. Everyone knew what the two werewolves were capable of.

Derek turned away from the bank vault and started towards the exit.

"Wait," Kara said, catching Scott before he left as well. She gave him a weary look. "Do you have any ideas on how to catch them? Any plans?"

Scott gave a slight shake of his head. "I was going to try to ask Allison's dad for help but...I'm not exactly his favourite person at the moment."

A werewolf hunter like his daughter, Kara guessed.

"Try it." _It might be the best chance you have at capturing them._

Kara moved to follow Scott out of the bank when a hand gripped her wrist. Startled, Kara found Allison looking at her with searching eyes. She waited for a moment, clearly not wanting Scott or Derek to hear their conversation.

Her voice was quiet but firm when she spoke. "I need your help."

"With what?" Kara asked, surprised by her words.

"They won't be able to catch Boyd and Cora by themselves. They're too strong, too fast. My dad taught me how to hunt werewolves, how to draw them into a trap, but...he doesn't want me to be involved in hunting."

"So you need an alibi."

Allison nodded. "I also need someone to help me track them. I'd ask my dad for help, but he can't know about this."

Kara stared at the empty bank vault where the two werewolves had been held captive. Scott had nearly died there because of them. He had nearly been killed, and he was a supernatural being with heightened strength and advanced healing. If he could be taken down that easily, then what chance did everyone else have?

Kara couldn't let anyone else get hurt.

"Tell me what you need me to do."

* * *

"We can come back for your car. It'll be faster if we just take mine."

Kara nodded in agreement, glancing at her car as they passed it. She felt weird leaving it behind. They hurried to Allison's car, wanting to get to the Beacon Hills preserve as soon as possible.

A sudden memory surfaced in Kara's mind. "Scott said he was going to try ask your dad for help."

Allison's eyes widened slightly. If her dad caught her trying to capture the werewolves it would put a strain on their relationship, something she dreaded with a heavy feeling in her stomach. She had so few loved ones left and she didn't want to compromise her relationship with any of them.

But she couldn't leave Beacon Hills at the mercy of two werewolves empowered by the moon's strength.

Allison tried to imagine what her dad would do to catch them. "If my dad does decide to help Scott then he'll try to lead Boyd and Cora somewhere where they can be held until the sun rises. Somewhere away from people."

"Somewhere secure," Kara added, wracking her brain for such a place. Where would she keep two dangerous werewolves with the urge to kill everyone they came across?

"The school, maybe?" she suggested.

Allison bit her lip. "As long as there are no teachers there..."

"It's pretty late. Teachers don't usually stay there this late, do they?"

The car stopped and Kara realised they'd made it to the preserve. Trees loomed over them, blending into a blanket of darkness in the night. Only the moonlight allowed them to have some visibility. Kara glanced over at Allison, who had suddenly stilled with her hands on the wheel. She stared straight ahead at nothing in particular. Kara could almost see the memories on permanent replay in her head. She knew the hunter was reliving the conversation about her mum—she could see the ghost of loss in her eyes. Kara wondered distantly how she died. Was it quick and painless, or did she suffer like Ella had?

Allison's voice startled the silence. "We had to pretend it was a suicide. My mother tried to...tried to kill Scott, but she was bitten by Derek. It's a part of the code that hunters follow that when one of us gets bitten by a werewolf we make sure they don't complete the transition."

Allison's voice was unemotional, controlled, and her face was impassive. She would not break under the weight of her grief.

"I guess she technically did commit suicide, but not for the reason that people always assume," she continued, voice hardening with resentment.

"I wasn't going to ask," Kara tried to tell her.

"But you wanted to," Allison said sharply. "Everyone wants to know why the seemingly tough, unbreakable Victoria Argent suddenly turned into a coward and committed suicide, leaving her daughter without a mother and her husband without a wife."

She swallowed visibly and tightened her grip on the steering wheel, struggling with the onslaught of emotions brought by her outburst. It almost sounded as though she had been quoting something, a cruel sentence someone had churned out. Kara wondered how many times she herself had sat in her car, fighting down a wave of grief that threatened to drown her. Just like Allison was now.

"Did Scott tell you why my mother died?" The words spilt out of Kara's mouth, unplanned but gentle. Allison closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, trying to regain her composure.

Her voice was quiet when she spoke. "She was bitten by a werewolf."

"Did he also tell you that she tore herself apart?"

The curtain Allison had so carefully placed over her face to hide her emotions suddenly fell away as she finally looked at Kara. Tears filled her wide eyes and she had to turn away from the older women's sad gaze, the reminder of her mother's death too painful to suppress. Allison had managed to heal in all those months in France, to learn how to live with her mother's passing—but there would always be an unfillable hole in her life. The knowledge that Kara's mother had been taken away so cruelly, so much like her own mother had, made Allison want to give into her grief and cry for an eternity. Allison felt a trickle of disgust at her weakness and forced herself to harden, turning steely eyes on the trees outside the car. She would not let her grief control her—she had to be strong like her mother would have wanted her to be.

"Do you have any idea of who bit your mother?" Allison inquired.

Slightly taken aback by her question, Kara shook her head. "That's what I came here to find out."

Not wanting to waste any more time, Allison reached across to the passenger seat and pulled an arrowhead out of the glove compartment. Kara regarded it with wary eyes.

"I thought we were just going to catch them."

"We are," The teenager clarified hastily. "This is a flashbang arrow, it temporarily blinds them because of their sensitive eyesight."

"That's...convenient."

Elbowing open the car door, Allison headed around to the boot of her car with Kara not far behind. She popped it open, revealing an impressive array of weapons. A sleek, black bow winked at Kara, and she spotted a crossbow half-hidden under a bag of arrows. She wondered briefly if Allison always kept weapons on hand.

The teenager pulled out her phone, checking for any messages. Grim satisfaction filled her as she read one from her father that informed her he would be home late. It all but confirmed her hopes that he would try to lead Boyd and Cora to somewhere secure—the school, most likely—but it also meant that she would be risking a run-in with him, which was something she wanted to avoid.

"My dad said he'd be home late, so I'm betting that he decided to help Scott," Allison announced, reaching for her bow and quiver. The weapon felt cool and familiar under her fingertips. She held out the crossbow to Kara, who took it tentatively.

"I don't know how to use this," she warned Allison.

"It's pretty simple. Just aim—point it a little higher than your target—and pull the trigger. Make sure you hold it tightly."

"And what am I shooting at, exactly?"

"We need to drive them into the school, so we can herd them to the entrance using the flash-bang arrows."

Kara nodded in understanding. She glanced at the crossbow, which felt too heavy in her hands. She preferred the practical, controlled guns she used to use at the shooting range with her brother. Or even better still, the familiar pulse of the power flowing through her veins. Kara could sometimes feel her ability tugging at her from somewhere deep within, begging to be unleashed. The feeling only reminded her of the lack of experience she had with using that power.

They fell silent as Allison led the way, stepping over tree branches with careful precision. Kara felt clumsy in comparison and she struggled to tread lightly on the layer of leaves covering the forest floor. They reached a clearing where Allison abruptly paused, holding up a hand to signal for Kara to do the same.

"We'll need to draw them towards the school. Lead them into a trap," Allison explained as she pulled out a small, narrow dagger with a diamond shaped blade. She held it above her wrist and pressed the tip to her skin, hard enough that it drew blood. Kara's eyes widened in understanding as Allison let a few drops of blood fall onto the ground.

"Their sense of smell is that good?" Kara questioned.

"Yeah, and so is their hearing," Allison said whilst rummaging through the small bag of equipment she had brought. She pulled out a fancy-looking pair of what seemed to be binoculars and held them out for Kara to take.

"Here, take these. They're night vision binoculars."

Kara held them up to her eyes and the forest around her suddenly turned into a vivid green landscape.

"Look out for any sign of movement. I'll be able to work faster if I have an extra pair of eyes keeping watch." Allison instructed.

Kara followed her deeper into the preserve and scanned their surroundings as Allison worked, setting up the perfect trail for two murderous werewolves to follow.

* * *

It seemed to take no time at all before they reached the school, despite the fact that numerous hours had passed since they first started tracking the werewolves. Kara checked her phone and was surprised to find that it was getting close to sunrise. She breathed a sigh of relief. The closer it was to daytime the lesser the risk of someone getting hurt.

Beacon Hills High was relatively small, not unlike the high school Kara used to attend. She did not welcome the sight of the familiar yellow school buses, or the football field—Kara's high school experience was not one that she kept at the forefront of her mind. Allison led her over to where the school buses were parked and proceed to scale one of them with lethal grace until she stood on top of the yellow hood. She beckoned for Kara, who looked slightly alarmed, to do the same. _This is not going to end well,_ Kara thought, before taking a few steps back to allow herself a run-up. She used her momentum from the run to propel herself onto the bonnet of the bus, then onto the hood. She stood up cautiously, not quite believing what she had just done. Kara was sure it had looked considerably less graceful than when Allison had done it, but still—she had made it.

"Not bad," Allison offered her a slight smile. "We can get a better vantage point from up here."

Movement just ahead of them caught Kara's eye. She strained to look closer and her eyes widened in alarm as she spotted two blurred figures racing over the roof of the school.

"Allison!" she said, warning the teen of the fast approaching werewolves. Allison whipped out an arrow and drew her bow in one smooth motion. Kara fumbled with the crossbow she had been given until she managed to notch an arrow and position the weapon. The werewolves leapt over the edge of the building and landed in front of the back entrance to the school, snarling threateningly.

"Try not to shoot them," was Allison's final piece of advice before she fired her first arrow.

It let off a blinding explosion of white light as it hit the ground, temporarily impairing the werewolves' vision. Kara let one of her arrows fly and watched in amazement as it struck the ground in the same way. They let loose arrow after arrow, raining down explosions of light until the werewolves had no choice but to retreat into the school. Kara spotted Isaac through the slight haze of smoke that the flash bang arrows left, and breathed a sigh of relief as he barricaded the doors shut. Allison and Kara traded expressions of exhilaration at successfully driving the two werewolves into the school.

"I guess you'll need this back," Kara held out the crossbow for Allison to take, but the teen's eyes had slid past Kara to Isaac, who was staring at them with bewilderment.

"We have to go," Allison announced hurriedly. She leapt down from the school bus and vanished out of sight, leaving Kara struggling to keep up with her.

"Wait, Allison," she hissed, grabbing the girl before she could flee into the woods. Allison stilled, despite looking like she would much rather be getting as far away from the school as possible. Kara inhaled tiredly, finally feeling the effects of staying up this late. It was nearly morning—the sky had begun to lighten ever so slightly, and a few birds were starting to make a racket. Kara glanced towards the doors the two werewolves had disappeared through. She had no idea what was going down in the school, but she guessed that they probably needed all the help they could get. At least until the sun came up.

"I need to go back and help," Kara said simply. Allison nodded in understanding, wishing that she could do the same.

"Thank you, for helping me out," Allison blurted, feeling slightly awkward. It wasn't every day that the girl you met a few days ago suddenly became your temporary werewolf- hunting buddy.

Kara handed her the borrowed crossbow and offered her a smile. "Anytime."

She glanced at the sky for any sign of the sun, then hightailed it into the school building. Kara reached an empty hallway and realised that she had no idea where the werewolves had been driven to, but she didn't have to wonder for long—moments later faint growls led her to the boiler room of the school. She found Scott at the heavy steel door of the room, and he gaped at her.

"What are you doing here?" Scott asked, puzzled by Kara's sudden appearance.

She shook her head dismissively. "It's a long story. What's happening in there?"

Scott winced faintly as she pointed to the room that held Boyd and Cora captive.

"We managed to trap them in the boiler room but…there's someone else in there, someone human, so Derek went in," Scott explained.

Kara's eyes widened with shock as she gave Scott an incredulous look. "You mean Derek's in there _alone_?"

"Scott!" came Isaac's voice, travelling down the stairs. "The sun's coming up!"

Scott threw open the door and scrambled down the stairs, followed closely by Kara and Isaac.

They were met with a startling sight—Derek, his shirt torn and skin littered with claw marks, knelt in between the two werewolves, who were lying on the ground. Unmoving.

None of them said a word about the state of Boyd and Cora. Kara couldn't tell if they were dead or alive, and she searched Derek's face for answers but came up empty.

"There's a teacher," Derek said, his breath coming in exhausted pants. "I'll take care of her."

Kara's stomach sank. An innocent person had been trapped inside the room with two werewolves blinded by the power of the full moon. She could have easily ended up dead.

"Get them out of here," Derek instructed, referring to Boyd and Cora. Scott and Isaac glanced at each other before hurriedly picking up a werewolf each and carrying them out of the boiler room. Kara spared one last glance at Derek before following them.

"Scott," she started, grabbing the teen's attention. "Are they….?"

The word burned in her throat, but Scott knew what she was asking. He shook his head and Kara breathed a sigh of relief. They were alive. For a moment in the boiler room, she hadn't been sure—Derek had refused to meet her eyes.

"You guys go. I'll wait for Derek," Kara said, giving Scott and Isaac a weary smile. She waited until they were out of sight, then leant against the building for support, her body weakened by exhaustion. Her legs felt like jelly from standing nearly the entire night and she had to resist the urge to sit down. She wondered how Derek would handle the teacher. Would he tell her about the supernatural world? No, surely not. It was too big a risk—he would probably try to convince her that what she saw was something else. But then again, who would believe her if she told anyone?

Kara straightened up as footsteps alerted her to Derek's presence. He looked even more exhausted than Kara felt. Blood was no longer seeping out of his wounds but had dried on his skin, giving him a grim appearance. It would have been comical if it was Halloween.

"How is the teacher?" Kara asked.

"Shaken up, but I think she'll be okay," Derek replied, suddenly frowning. "How did you know we were here?"

"I, uh," Kara fumbled for an explanation that didn't include Allison. "Scott mentioned getting help from Chris Argent, so I asked Allison about it and figured that he'd try to hold them captive somewhere secure. Somewhere like the school."

Technically she hadn't mentioned Allison actually being at the school, but it was still a crappy explanation. Derek raised his eyebrows but didn't question it. He took a few steps forward but swayed slightly, overwhelmed by the night's events. Kara placed her hands on his shoulders to steady him and looked at him with concerned eyes.

"Maybe I should drive," she suggested.

"No, I'm okay," Derek insisted.

Kara raised an eyebrow. "Derek, you nearly got clawed to death."

She held a hand out for his car keys, which he gave to her reluctantly. They made their way over to Derek's car, passing a small red car on the way. It didn't look familiar to Kara. _It must be the teacher's car,_ she realised.

"I need to pick up my car on the way. It's still at the bank," Kara said, once they were in the car. She glanced at Derek every now and then whilst she drove, making sure that he didn't take a turn for the worse. He leant against the window with his eyes closed, so worn out that he didn't even tell Kara to be careful with his car. They reached the bank and Kara pulled up behind her car.

"Derek?" she asked tentatively, and he opened his eyes. "You okay to drive?"

He nodded wordlessly but hesitated with a hand on the door. He seemed to be searching for words to say.

Kara spoke for him. "You know for a moment there I thought that Boyd and Cora were dead."

"For a moment there I thought I was too," Derek sighed, meeting her gaze.

It was silent for a little while until Kara spoke again. "I'll see you back at the loft."

She gave Derek a small smile before stepping out of his car and making her way to her own.

Her bed seemed unbelievably appealing when she got to the loft. Everyone was sleeping off the previous night's events and Kara retreated to her room after making sure Derek was okay. Sleep came easily for once, enveloping Kara's tired body and mind in its reassuring embrace. Her worries slowly drifted elsewhere, but they didn't stay away for long. They never did.

* * *

 _Flashes of red. Brief, fleeting images of crimson liquid dripping from her fingertips, coating her hands. The blood was stark against her pale skin. But it was not hers._

" _What did I do?" Kara murmured, as panic set in. She crouched on the floor. Hands shaking. Breath coming too fast, too shallow. And suddenly a pair of shoes on the ground below her face. She clutched at the shoes, then legs, looking up to expect a face. But there were only shadows. A faceless monster. Then—a body. Slumped against a wall. Unmoving. Had she done that? She scrambled away from it, but there was no escaping the blood on her hands.  
"What did you make me do?" she whispered. The figure vanished. A woman screamed, torn by the sight of the unmoving body. Kara pleaded with her. She was sorry, sorry, she didn't mean to. But the woman continued shrieking. Murderer, murderer, murderer._

 _Monster._

Kara couldn't breathe. She sucked in huge gasps of air as she bolted upright, tangled in her sheets. Her eyes flitted around the room wildly, expecting to see a faceless figure in the corner of her room, or a body slumped against a wall. Her senses came back to her slowly, helping her make more sense of what had just happened. Kara sighed in relief. It was just a dream. A terrifyingly disturbing dream, but still, a dream. Kara untangled herself from her sheets and checked the time; it was nearly midday. Pulling her hair in a ponytail to hide its unruliness, she made her way into the kitchen and was met with the smell of something that made her stomach growl insistently. To her surprise, Boyd was at the stove, prodding at something in a pan with a wooden spatula. He looked up and smiled hesitantly, which was when Kara remembered that he probably had no idea who she was.

She almost forgot to introduce herself. "I'm—"

"—Kara. We know." A voice chimed in, belonging to Derek's recently-discovered little sister. Cora appeared from around the corner and stood next to Boyd, seeming quite comfortable in his presence. Kara supposed that being trapped in a bank vault for three months would bring two people closer.

"Has Derek told you about me?" Kara asked, not sure how much they knew about her.

"He mentioned you," Cora replied vaguely. "Are you and him dating?"

"No! No. I mean, I'm living here, but it's not because of that," Kara rushed to explain her story. "I made a deal with your brother, that if I stayed to help fight the alpha pack then he—and others, like Scott and Isaac—would help me find out why my mother…why she died."

Kara launched into an explanation of her mother's strange reaction to the werewolf bite, keeping it relatively short to spare herself. Her emotions had been left frayed by the disturbing dream she had endured, and talking about her mother for too long would only make it worse. Boyd and Cora's eyes widened in disbelief as she talked. As Kara suspected, her mother's reaction to the werewolf bite was something they had never heard about before.

"So you're trying to find who bit her," Cora concluded, earning a nod from Kara. "Any luck so far?"

Kara sighed. "No. But someone left a weird note here not long after I came to Beacon Hills. I think it has something to do with who my father is."

"So how can you help with the alpha pack? You're not a werewolf," Cora questioned. Boyd nudged her, silently telling her to ease up.

"You guys aren't the only ones with supernatural powers," Kara said with a small smile. "I'm still working on it, but there are a few things I can do."

Cora raised her eyebrows. "Like?"

Kara glanced at her and Boyd. "You sure you want me to show you? It might hurt a bit."

Cora looked at Boyd for approval, then nodded when he shrugged. "Do it."

Palms facing outwards, Kara latched onto the familiar tug of her supernatural power and pulled, feeling it flow through her arms to her fingertips. She created what she liked to call a 'zone', which was where her power would reach. She made sure to keep Derek out of that zone—she was pretty sure he wouldn't appreciate being woken up after last night's events. Kara let her power ebb into the zone she had created, watching as Boyd and Cora clamped their hands over their ears. Kara had to be careful not to let go of the leash she had on her power completely—she could feel it tugging, begging to be let loose. A flash of fear struck her and she abruptly extinguished her power.

"You okay?" Kara asked the two teenagers, afraid she'd gone too far. Afraid she'd lost control. But they were fine—Cora continued to ask questions as Boyd moved onto cooking bacon. Kara had never felt the urge to let go of her powers so strongly before, and it frightened her. What if one day she lost control and hurt somebody? Suddenly the dream she'd had didn't seem so far-fetched.

Kara noticed Cora repeatedly glancing at Derek, who was sleeping on the couch. Her expression held worry and bit of guilt—her older brother was not healing as fast as he should have, and she was the reason he got hurt in the first place.

"He'll be fine. It was just a few scratches," Kara reassured her, catching the girl off guard. Cora gave her a small, tentative smile, the first one Kara had seen from her.

"Lunch is ready," Boyd announced, serving up huge amounts of numerous breakfast foods. Kara was impressed. "What's all this for?"

"It's kind of a 'sorry for clawing you a thousand times and thanks for saving our butts' to Derek," Boyd winced.

"I'll go see if he wants any," Cora said, jerking her head in Derek's direction.

"How are you feeling?" Kara asked as Boyd passed her a plate. He seemed surprised by the question—after all, he had just met the girl. He wasn't exactly used to people checking up on him either. "Not bad, just a bit weaker than I'd like to be." He said.

Kara nodded in understanding. She still felt drained from the night before, but luckily she had managed to avoid getting hurt.

Her phone buzzed in her pocket. She pulled it out and felt her stomach drop as she read the message on the screen.

 _Be there tonight at 9 pm, sharp. Come alone._

The message was from an unknown number, but Kara knew where it had come from. She was supposed to be meeting someone—one of the mystery caller's colleagues—as some point. How could she have forgotten? She stared at the message, her heart racing.

Boyd noticed the odd look on her face. "What is it?"

Kara took a deep breath and put her phone away, giving Boyd a quick smile.

"Just something I need to do. That's all."

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **How did everyone like Allison and Kara teaming up? I loved writing them as allies, so expect to see more of their partnership in the near future ;)**

 **I've got some exciting stuff planned for the next chapter, which has something to do with how Kara's meeting will go...**

 **Thanks for reading!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Half an hour to go. Kara's knee bounced anxiously as she checked the time on her phone. It had only been five minutes since she had last checked it. She huffed in frustration and picked up the book lying beside her, hoping that reading would help her pass the time. The words seemed to rearrange themselves, becoming another language as they swirled around on the page. A frown lined Kara's face as she narrowed her eyes, trying to concentrate on the novel—but it was no use. Her thoughts kept returning to the meeting that would take place that evening and the irrational feeling of dread that filled her. This was what she had come to Beacon Hills for; to find answers to the questions that had burned and stained Kara's childhood, leaving her desperate for the truth. She _needed_ to know why her mother got sick—so why did she feel like she was making a huge mistake?

Twenty minutes to go. Derek, Isaac, Boyd and Cora had long since gone to bed, still trying to catch up on sleep lost during the previous night. Kara's mind wandered briefly to the teacher that had been caught up in the plan to capture Boyd and Cora. How was she coping with what she had witnessed? Did the events of the full moon play out in her dreams, trapping her in a never-ending nightmare? Kara remembered the night her mother was attacked by the alpha in vivid detail. A werewolf encounter was not something one could forget easily.

Ten minutes to go. Kara stood up abruptly, sick of waiting. It wouldn't hurt to get there early.

"Where are you going?"

Startled by the voice, Kara froze with a hand on the loft door as her eyes darted to the source of the noise. Cora stood in the doorway of her room with her arms folded and face pulled into a dubious frown. "It's getting late."

"I know," Kara assured her, hoping that her smile didn't look forced. She was startled to see Cora—she'd thought that the younger Hale sibling was asleep. "I'm just going to the library."

Technically, not a lie. But Kara did not have the time to tell Cora what going to the library really entailed. Puzzlement crossed Cora's face, but eventually, she let it go. Face drawn with weariness, she said goodnight and retreated back into her room. Relief filled Kara. She inched the door open and hurried down the stairs, heart thumping wildly at the realisation of what she was about to do.

* * *

The library loomed up ahead, appearing suddenly as Kara rounded a corner. Icy fear trickled through her veins. She was exposed, vulnerable—she had been forced to walk to the library since her car was low on gas, and she felt uneasy without the shelter of her car. Yellow lights illuminated the front steps at the entrance of the library, giving it a warm glow. Kara squinted from her position across the road at a figure standing in front of the steps. Could they be who she was supposed to meet? There was hardly anyone else around and it was a few minutes past 9pm—she had a feeling that whoever she was meeting wouldn't be late. _Only one way to find out,_ Kara thought to herself, crossing the road with her eyes trained on the figure. The person's features came into view as Kara tentatively walked closer. The person was a woman, her hair pulled back into a sleek ponytail and a sharp, alert look on her face. She was dressed in all black and sported an expensive-looking leather jacket that Kara might have been envious of, had she not been in her current situation. Kara studied the woman's face and realised that she did not look much older than twenty, despite the professional air around her.

Catching sight of Kara, the woman's head suddenly snapped up. A look of recognition crossed her face, as did a slight upturn of her mouth that resembled an odd sort of smile—it was forced, something to soften the face so as to not appear intimidating. Kara was unsettled. The look that crossed her face…it was almost as if she knew Kara. The woman strode towards her, the strange smile still plastered on her face. A peaceful gesture. _Do not be afraid of me,_ it read. But Kara couldn't shake the uneasiness that pooled in her stomach and roiled around with her nervous insides. Something niggled at the back of her mind, something important she was forgetting. But all thought stopped as the woman finally reached her and spoke. "My name is Clark. I'm sure you have many questions for me, Kara Grayson."

Kara's mouth went dry. "I…yeah. Um, how do you know my name?"  
She internally winced at her words. This was the first thing Kara asked of the person who might know the answers to the questions that plagued her at night, and she was asking how the woman knew her name.

"The man you spoke to on the phone is my boss. He told me what I needed to know about you so that I could give you some answers." Clark spoke, her voice crisp but still somehow friendly. Her hands were clasped in front of her, and Kara could hear Derek's voice telling her to make sure she could see the woman's hands at all times. Hopefully it was advice that Kara would not need tonight.

"I…" Kara trailed off, unsure of where to start. Years spent wondering, longing for answers all boiled down to this moment, and she could not think of a single thing to say. There were too many questions, too many thoughts for Kara to string into a simple sentence. There was fear at work as well, and Kara wondered for the first time if she was letting that stop her. She inhaled sharply as a worrying thought crossed her mind. Was she afraid of what she might find out?

It was then that Kara noticed it. The focus of Clark's gaze had shifted, her eyes slipping past Kara for a split second. Kara's stomach gave a horrible lurch. The man on the phone had said for her to meet his _colleagues._ Plural.

Meaning she was supposed to be meeting more than one person.

Kara whirled around, only to slam into something towering over her. Panic flooded her body as hands grabbed her body and she glimpsed the face of a man as she struggled to free herself. She flailed wildly, thrashing around in the man's grip with all her might. She wanted to scream, to signal for help, but her throat had closed up. "Get her under control, Damien," Clark snapped. Her words ignited a burst of adrenaline in Kara's system and she thrust her head backward, hearing a satisfying _crack_ as it connected with her attacker's skull. A yell of pain sounded from behind her as the man's grip loosened and Kara scrambled free. She stumbled away and broke into a run, spurred on by the heavy footsteps that followed her. She sprinted into the alley beside the library and caught sight of a brick wall right at the end of the alley. A dead end. "Shit," Kara panted, turning to look behind her.

The man thundered towards her with Clark following closely behind. His face was twisted into an angry grimace and blood streamed from his crooked nose. Kara had run straight into a trap, caught between her two attackers and a brick wall. Her only option was to fight her way out.

The man came at her first. He lunged with outstretched arms, aiming a punch to her gut. Kara jumped back, narrowly avoiding the blow. Another caught her across the jaw and she gasped at the impact, face throbbing. He advanced on her again, but this time Kara grabbed his outstretched hand and jerked him towards her, where she rammed her elbow into his temple. He made a sound like an angry bull and Kara scrambled towards the street, her feet picking up speed. She glanced back at her attacker. Bad mistake. She nearly didn't see Clark lunging for her out of the corner of her eye and lurched back, only to stumble into a crate and trip. Her momentum sent her straight to the ground. She landed hard on her hip and thrust out her hands to slow her impact, which scraped the skin of her palms across the asphalt. Hands gripped the front of her jacket and roughly hauled her to her feet. Kara did scream this time, but it was cut short when she was slammed into the brick wall behind her. She gasped for air, face to face with the man, who pressed down on her chest. Kara wheezed, feeling her strength slowly fade.

"What do you want from me?" Kara croaked, but her question was ignored.

"Orders were to take her with minimal to no damage, Damien," came Clark's irritated voice.

"Well, she's not exactly making it easy, is she?" Damien spat, keeping his narrowed eyes on Kara. Ice filled her veins and suddenly the pressure on her chest wasn't the only thing constricting her breathing. What were they trying to do with her?

"Damien," Clark hissed, the irritation in her voice replaced by an edge of urgency.

"I know, ok. Lay off."

"No, you idiot—look."

Kara followed Clark's gaze. It led her to the entrance of the alley, where a cloaked figure stood perfectly still. A slight breeze drifted through the street, sweeping the person's cloak to the side. Damien's face became a mask of confusion. "You didn't send for backup, did you?" he asked his partner, who did not get a chance to answer—the cloaked figure had started running towards them and judging by the whip unfurling from their hand, the mystery arrival was not a friend. Kara froze, wide eyes trained on the scene unfolding before her.

"Damien! Take the girl!" Clark cried, just before the cloaked person reached her. The whip cut through the air with a harsh _crack_ and wound itself around Clark's ankles, pulling her to the ground. Kara felt herself being yanked away from the wall and snapped out of her paralysed state, fighting to free herself from Damien's grip once again. But it was of no use this time. She no longer had the element of surprise—Damien had quickly learnt not to underestimate her skill and kept a tight grip on her writhing body as he hauled her towards a sleek, black car parked outside the alley entrance. "No," Kara gasped. She would not allow herself to be taken, not when she had so much to fight for.

"Damien! Watch out!"

Kara was shoved to the ground by her attacker, who turned to find the cloaked figure advancing on him. They moved in a blur of movement, Damien just dancing out of the whip's reach. The person's boot-clad foot swung up, catching him square in the jaw. He staggered off to the side and Kara flinched as the mystery person suddenly whirled on her. "Go!" a woman's voice shouted—it took Kara a moment to register that it had come from the mystery person, whose face was half-covered by a black cloth. Kara jumped to her feet and set off at a run, barely registering the pain in her hip. She ran for as long as her body would let her, never once looking back.

* * *

No longer spurred on by adrenaline, Kara limped to the foot of the many stairs of the loft. She felt the full force of her injuries—her stinging, bloody palms and the pulsing pain in her hip that made it hard to walk. The overwhelming emotional impact of nearly being kidnapped and the prospect of climbing the stairs up to the loft with the pain in her hands and hip was enough to bring her to tears. Kara leant against the building wall, her hands shaking and breath coming in uneven pants. She wiped at her damp face, trying to compose herself before anyone saw her. Her body protested as she made her way up to the loft, wincing with each stair she climbed. Exhaustion fell like a heavy blanket over her body and she wanted nothing more than to lie down and let sleep wash away the night's events. Her feet became harder to lift and she caught her foot on the edge of a step, sending a jarring pain through the left side of her body. Kara inhaled sharply and gripped the railing, her face contorting with pain as she struggled not to cry out. She couldn't make it up the rest of the stairs like this.

She huffed in frustration. "Derek?" she called softly, hoping that he would hear her. A minute of silence, then the loft door slid open and Derek's silhouette appeared in the doorway. He took in the sight of Kara leaning against the railing, her bloody hands clutching at her side, and his eyes widened in alarm. "What happened?" he demanded, making his way down the stairs to where Kara stood. He looped an arm around her back and Kara clenched her jaw as she climbed the rest of the stairs, leaning on Derek for support. He set her down on the couch, searching her eyes for answers. Kara avoided his gaze, not wanting him to see the utter defeat on her face. She glanced down at her palms, which still stung from being grazed. Sensing that she wasn't going to talk yet, Derek set off to find something to wipe the blood away and returned with a damp washcloth. Kara accepted it and gingerly cleaned around the grazes. She was grateful for something to do—it meant that she didn't have to look at Derek as he sat down next to her, a safe distance away. She took her time, cleaning until the tender skin around the grazes was free of blood. She was surprised at Derek's patience. Maybe he could sense the tears threatening to well in her eyes, or see the slight shaking of her hands. Kara eventually set the cloth down and looked up at Derek.

"I went to meet with someone to get answers about my mother but…it didn't exactly go as planned."

Derek frowned, needing a longer explanation. "Who did you go to meet?"

Kara hesitated. She felt uneasy talking about something like this, especially considering it was with someone she did not know well. Derek was her ally, yes, but she there was still a part of her that was reluctant to trust him. But if she couldn't trust him, then how was he supposed to help her?

"Do you remember how I got a phone call when we were trying to get Isaac's memories back at the animal clinic?" Kara asked. He nodded, his eyebrows still knitted together as he tried to figure out where she was going with this. Kara continued, fighting the urge to run and hide with each word. "It was a phone call from someone I don't know, but it wasn't the first time they'd contacted me. After my mother died," Kara said through the lump in her throat, "I got a call from them telling me to come to Beacon Hills. Telling me to find you."

"Whoever called me a few nights ago told me that if I wanted answers I could meet with some of his colleagues. But that didn't go so well," Kara explained, gesturing to her injuries. "I walked straight into a trap. They attacked me and tried to take me somewhere, but then this…woman appeared. I didn't know her either, but she helped me escape."

The confusion in Derek's expression bled into his voice. "So what made you think that trusting this person was a good idea? And why didn't you tell me that you were meeting these people?"

Kara could hear the underlying tone of accusation in Derek's voice, whether he realised it was there or not. She felt a little prick of annoyance, but she was too exhausted to say anything about it. "He helped me in the past. He…helped me after my mother died and led me to Beacon Hills, which I would have had no idea about otherwise," Kara explained wearily. She refrained from going into too much detail about how much this person had helped her after her mother's death—there were things that Derek could not know about her. At least not yet.

"As for why I didn't tell you that I was going to meet with those people…I'm used to doing things on my own. It didn't really cross my mind to do it any other way than by myself," Kara admitted. Something softened in Derek's face—a hint of grim understanding. His tone was oddly soft as he said, "Tell me if you get any more weird phone calls, yeah?"

Kara nodded, her mouth lifting into a weary smile. And she meant it. It was foolish of her to go alone, but she had been blinded by the possibility of finally getting some answers; after all, it was what she had come to Beacon Hill for. If Kara really wanted to know the truth then she would need as much help as she could get. It was strange to think that it wasn't just her anymore—that there were people who would help her. Taking care of her mother had pretty much been a solo job, with her brother away in the army earning money to keep them afloat. With a pang, she realised that she wasn't alone on this one, and the thought alone made her want to cry.

Derek's voice snapped her out of her thoughts, a strange expression on his face. "How long was it before the person who helped you escape showed up?"

Kara frowned, thinking back to how long the fight had lasted for. It was hard to pinpoint a time—every nerve in her body had been so focused on escaping that she hadn't been able to think of much else. "I'm not really sure. Five minutes, maybe? Long enough for me to have to fight them."

"So you managed to hold them off until the woman arrived?" Derek asked, a slight grin spreading across his face. Kara's eyebrows lifted in surprise. She _had_ fought back pretty well, considering she had been attacked by two people who probably had some training. "Yeah. I guess I did," Kara replied with a slightly bewildered smile. A thought crossed her mind, unnervingly confronting. What if she hadn't fought back?

"Thank you," she said a little hastily, as if she was forcing the words out before she lost her nerve. "I probably would have been taken if I didn't fight back, so thank you for the training."

 _Taken._ The word made Derek clench his jaw, suddenly realising the seriousness of the situation. Kara had nearly been _kidnapped_ by two strangers sent by a mystery person who had called her on multiple occasions. Someone wanted her, and Derek didn't want to imagine why. "Someone tried to take you tonight," he said pointedly. Kara's eyebrows rose so high that they could have disappeared into her hairline and Derek braced himself for the sarcastic remark that was sure to come.

"Really? I had no idea—"

"You have a target on your back, Kara."

It was the weariness in his voice that made her pause. She sagged into the couch, a heavy sigh leaving her lips. "I think it has something to do with what I am. Whatever that is," she said softly, exasperation creeping into her voice.

Derek shared her frustration. He had a reasonably wide range of supernatural knowledge, but Kara didn't fit into anything he had ever seen or heard of before—something that both worried and intrigued him. If they couldn't figure out what she was, then how was she supposed to use her powers to their full extent?

"We could go to Deaton. See if he knows anything," he suggested.

Kara frowned. "You think he would?"

"It's worth a shot."

A brief smile ghosted over her face. "You sound like Scott."

Derek snorted, but the corner of his mouth quirked up, betraying him. Kara smiled in spite of herself, but it quickly soured and bled from her face. She remembered the dream she'd had that morning and dread filled her stomach. She needed to get herself under control, figure out what the hell she was—and what it meant for the people around her.

That awful dread still tugged at her mind, despite her new resolve. It made her feel powerless, unable to see what was coming before it hit her. She felt like she was trying to fight something she couldn't see. "I'm worried that I might...hurt someone. Like how I accidentally burned you that day," Kara admitted, hesitating on her words. For some reason she was letting Derek in tonight, not keeping up the usual barriers that surrounded her. It was exhausting having to carefully pick and choose what she said, not wanting to reveal too much or get too close. It was like becoming another person, putting another version of herself on display; one that was unbreakable. But Kara was not made of marble tonight. "I need to figure out my powers."

Derek was silent for a moment, and Kara carefully watched him process what she'd said. Would he be worried that she was too unstable to help them? Would he cast her out, declaring her of no use to them? The deal with the supernatural folk of Beacon Hills was all she had. If that was taken away from her...But when Derek finally spoke, his voice was unusually gentle. "We'll figure something out."

Strangely, the simplicity of his answer and certainty in his voice reassured her. She released a breath she didn't even know she had been holding, relieved that the deal was still intact. Kara didn't think she could take anything else going wrong tonight. Her eyes flickered to Derek, giving him a tired smile—but something in his gaze had shifted, becoming more intense as it burned Kara's skin. She held his stare, hardly able to breathe as his eyes flickered down to her lips. What was he doing, looking at her like that? It was having an effect on her that she hadn't felt in a long time, something that took her a moment to register. But she wasn't thinking straight. Her mind had become a jumbled mess and all rational thoughts were muted as she unthinkingly leant closer, spurred on by the sudden warmth of Derek's hand on her side—

Kara jerked back, wincing as a sharp pain speared through her back. Derek looked at her in alarm, his hand hovering where it had been resting on her waist. Her heart thumped wildly, both from the pain and the realisation of what she had nearly done. What the hell was she thinking? Truth be told, she hadn't been thinking at all—hadn't even hesitated.

And now she had another problem—not quite as pressing as her supernatural one but much more human.

"I think my back is bruised," she told Derek through gritted teeth, recalling the moment when the man—Damien—had slammed her against the alley wall. Bastard. It was hard to meet Derek's eyes and he didn't seem to be in any hurry to look at her after the moment that had just passed. "I'll try to find some ice," he said, before retreating to the kitchen.

Kara internally groaned in utter mortification as she laid down on the couch, hoping to ease the remnants of pain pulsing along her spine. She'd really messed things up between her and Derek. She was angry at herself for letting go like that, but even more so for having feelings that she hadn't had to deal with for a while. Why now, of all times? Still, even through her frustration, her stomach was filled with butterflies. Kara would have to file away yet another memory so that she could focus on what she came to Beacon Hills for, but it was harder to do this time—this was a memory that she did not want to push aside. A sudden wave of exhaustion washed over her and her body became heavy as lead. Kara sunk deeper into the couch, eyelids drooping, and in a matter of minutes, sleep had come to claim her weary body.

Ice pack in hand, Derek made his way out of the kitchen. He admittedly took longer than necessary, but he had needed a few minutes to compose himself after what he had nearly done. What he had nearly let himself feel. Derek paused at the sight of Kara asleep on the couch. He sighed and placed the ice pack down on the coffee table. Kara had fallen asleep in an odd position—the top half of her body lying down on the couch with her feet on the ground. A position that would surely cause her a bit of grief in the morning. Derek glanced at her feet, which were still covered by her boots. He went to retreat to his room but hesitated, not quite able to tear his eyes away from Kara's sleeping frame. He found her heartbeat in the quiet night, making sure that she was really asleep, before carefully sliding his hands under her body and lifting. Her head lolling against his chest, Derek made his way to her room. Isaac suddenly appeared from the doorway of his room, rubbing his eyes tiredly and squinting at Derek. His expression quickly turned to one of alarm. "What happened?" he asked, glancing at Kara's unconscious frame.

"It's okay, she's just asleep. We'll explain in the morning," Derek explained hastily, his voice low so as to not wake the person in his arms. Isaac hesitated for a moment, not sure if he was content with Derek's answer, but eventually accepted it and went back to bed. Derek nudged Kara's bedroom door open and gently laid her down on the bed inside. She stirred and her eyes flickered open a fraction. "Thank you," she murmured with half-lidded eyes, and the rise and fall of her chest slowed as she fell back asleep. Derek went to say goodnight, but the words wouldn't form on his tongue. He gave Kara one last glance before heading to his room, a strange kind of hope rising in his chest. He should squash it, he knew, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. He allowed himself to revel in the feeling—just for a moment.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

It was nearly midday, but the man serving Kara at the gas station convenience store looked as though he had just woken up. What was left of his greying hair was mussed in odd directions, and Kara detected a faint odour of cigarettes and sweat. She held out the money she owed for her gas, which the man took with a heavy sigh. Nose wrinkled in distaste, she exited the store, grateful for the fresh air outside. A dull, throbbing pain in her hip slowly grew more intense as she walked back to her car. She ignored it and kept walking, but couldn't help the slight limp that crept into her stride. Kara probably shouldn't have been walking with her sore hip, but she'd needed to get gas; sitting still and waiting was not a speciality of Kara's. She gingerly climbed into her car and pulled out of the gas station, heading back to her temporary home.

Nervous butterflies erupted in Kara's stomach as she neared the loft. Last night's events played in a loop inside her head, not letting her forget what had occurred between her and Derek—or what had _nearly_ occurred. Part of Kara wanted to hide away in the town's library for the rest of the day so that she could avoid facing Derek, but it would only prolong the inevitable. She was living with Derek. She had to face him sometime.

Kara passed the public library and a shudder rippled through her body. A hand rose to her jaw, ghosting over where the man—Damien—had punched her. She'd woken up with a lovely purple bruise that morning, a jarring reminder of how easily her attackers had taken her down. As soon as she healed, Kara would train with Derek again. She'd train every day if she had to, harder than ever. Whatever it took to protect herself.

And of course, there was the issue of her supernatural ability. Kara had no idea how to fully harness it, or what _it_ even was. There were small things she could do with her powers, but Kara had a feeling that her abilities were far more dangerous than she had guessed. Derek had said something about asking Deaton for help; maybe he knew something about Kara's supernatural ability. She wondered if Deaton even knew that she wasn't entirely human. No—Scott probably would have said something about it to his boss. Deaton knew. Kara just hoped that his knowledge could help her find out what she truly was, and how she could use it to her advantage. If she could somehow fully control her powers and turn them into a weapon…the Alpha pack wouldn't just be fighting werewolves. They'd be fighting Kara too.

The idea was thrilling enough to give her the strength to make it up the stairs leading to the loft. She reached the last flight of stairs but faltered when she saw the loft door. It was wide open, a sight that Kara had never seen before. She crept up the remaining stairs, telling herself it was nothing. Surely she was just being paranoid—but then she heard voices.

One of them belonged to a man, and although his voice seemed pleasant, there was a threatening undertone to it. Kara could only just make out what he was saying from her position behind the door. She hardly dared to breathe, scared she would reveal herself.

"I'm a man with far more vision than simple murder. In fact," the stranger said casually, "I'm here to show you just how much vision a blind man can have."

Kara could hear a spluttering sound coming from the loft, as if someone was being sick. Who was in there? Derek? Cora?

"You're killing him!" came Cora's panicked voice.

A female's unfamiliar voice answered her. "Not yet, little sister. But I could."

Kara's eyes widened in alarm. Derek was hurt—on the verge of dying, by the sounds of it. She had to do something, but what? She had no idea what she would be going up against if she walked into that loft, and she didn't like her odds of winning a fight. Kara closed her eyes as Derek spluttered again, clenching her jaw. The intruders were going to find her eventually—either when Kara walked into the loft, or when they walked out.

"Now, you see the problem with being in an Alpha pack. Everybody wants to make the decisions. Me, I'm more about discovering new talents," the man said. "Like you. And the girl hiding outside, listening in to our riveting conversation."

Kara froze. Footsteps advanced towards her and a tall, burly man stepped out of the loft, his cruel eyes trained on Kara as he gave her a predatory grin. She'd seen him before, at the hospital when they'd gone to rescue Isaac. In a flash, he darted forward and grabbed her small frame. Shrieking, Kara was back in the alley, struggling to free herself from someone else's grip. He dragged her writhing body into the loft, where she caught sight of Derek on his hands and knees over a pool of blood. A steel pipe held by a woman Kara did not recognise had been speared through Derek's midsection, and horror filled her veins like ice. He lifted his head up a fraction and met Kara's gaze, his eyes widening at the sight of her.

"Now, now, Kara. There's no need for that," a man sitting on a wooden chair chided her as she struggled. Kara stilled and inhaled sharply as her captor raised his claws up to her neck, where they poised themselves dangerously close to her throat. She swallowed nervously, pursing her lips so that her bottom lip wouldn't tremble. "Who are you?" she demanded with a shaky voice. Her captor's hot breath fanned her neck and Kara fought a shudder of revulsion, keeping her eyes on the man sitting on the couch. He wore sunglasses and Kara had heard him say he was blind, but his hidden eyes seemed to stare right through her. "Deucalion," he introduced himself, voice coated in false pleasantry. Kara's stomach rose up into her throat. There was an odd, amused expression on his face as if he knew something Kara didn't. He probably knew many things that Kara had no clue about, but...he was enjoying her confusion. Enjoying dangling the answers over Kara's head and watching her jump for them.

"I'm not interested," Derek rasped, drawing Deucalion's focus back to him. Kara was relieved not to be the focus of his attention anymore. She glanced at Cora, whose eyes were flickering between her and Derek, caught between two people trapped. Cora stared at the claws at Kara's neck and swallowed uneasily. Kara did not have the ability to heal like werewolves did; one wrong move and she would be bleeding out on the floor.

"But you haven't even heard my pitch!" Deucalion protested Derek's refusal.

"You want me to kill my own pack?" the injured werewolf bit back, throwing as much hostility into his wheezing voice as he could muster.

"No. I want you to kill one of them. Do that, and I won't have to ask you to kill the others. You'll do it on your own."

Kara's heart thumped against her ribcage as her eyes darted between Derek and Deucalion in confusion. Why would he want Derek to kill his pack? But of course—Kara already knew the answer to that. Deucalion wanted Derek in his pack and to him, killing the alpha's betas was a necessary part of that.

"Tell them what it's like, Kali. To kill one of your own."

The alpha hummed theatrically, contemplating her answer. "Liberating."

Kara bit her lip as Derek spluttered again, his limbs shaking as blood dripped from his crimson-stained lips.

"Listen to her Derek," Deucalion advised him. "You really want to stay beholden to a couple of maladjusted teenagers bound to become a liability? And believe me, they will become a liability—in fact, I have a feeling one of them is getting himself into trouble right now."

Cora and Kara shared a worried glance as Derek convulsed, his body shuddering as he struggled to breathe with the pipe impaled through his body. Kara wanted to run to the younger Hale sibling but was held in place by the claws at her neck. She knew that her captor could hear her heart thumping rapidly, and maybe even smell her fear. The thought made a shiver travel down her spine. She felt violated, her emotions no longer her own. Deucalion moved from his position on the chair to stand in front of Derek. Cora's eyes narrowed at the intruder, not wanting him to get any closer to her brother.

Deucalion held onto his de-constructed cane. "See, the reason I'm always invested in new talent is simple. We all know a pack is strongest due to its individual parts; the stronger the individual parts, the greater the whole." He flicked his wrist and his cane straightened. "When I lost my sight one of my betas assumed I wasn't fit for my role anymore. He tried to take it from me." A clinking sound could be heard as Deucalion threateningly folded a part of his cane inwards. Cora threw a nervous glance to where Kara was being held captive by Ennis, eyeing his claws. Deucalion continued on. "Killing him taught me something about Alphas I didn't know they could do. His power was added to mine. I became stronger, faster, and more powerful than I'd ever been. I tested this new ability to subsume the power of your own by killing another one." _Snap._ Another fold. "In fact, I killed them all," he added with a cruel smirk that liquified Kara's insides. They were dealing with a merciless killer, one more powerful than a regular alpha. The leader of a pack of alphas.

 _Snap._ Another fold of the metallic cane. "I took the individual parts and became a greater individual whole," Deucalion finished. He crouched down, reaching out a hand to Derek's head. Kara made a noise of protest and leaned forward, only to be jerked back by the werewolf keeping her captive. Kara's eyes watered as claws pressed against her throat, threatening to pierce her delicate skin.

"Let her go," Derek gasped, drops of blood falling to the puddle of dark red liquid below him.

"All in good time," Deucalion responded, before gripping Derek's hair and yanking his head back. He ran a hand over the struggling werewolf's features and dropped his head. "You're right Kali. He looks like his mother."

Cora briefly cast her eyes to the ground at the mention of Talia Hale. Somewhere deep inside her, she still felt a pang at the reminder of her mother, despite a long time having passed since the fateful fire that took her life. Then again, Cora knew it would still hurt in another twenty years. She'd just get better at dealing with it.

Her eyes snapped up as Deucalion turned his back to them. "You'll get to know me, Derek, like she did."

Kara's eyes widened a fraction. Deucalion knew Derek's mother?

"I know you," Derek spat. "I know what you are. You're a _fanatic_."

Deucalion set his cane down on the table, and when he spoke again his voice had a dangerous edge to it. "Know me? You've never seen anything like me. I am the alpha of alphas. I am the apex of apex predators," Deucalion bellowed, his voice getting louder with each word. "I AM DEATH, DESTROYER OF WORLDS. I AM THE DEMON WOLF."

Kara flinched as thunder cracked across the sky, looking at the monster before her with terrified eyes. Kali tugged the pipe out of Derek's back, freeing him. He collapsed on his side as Kali dropped the blood-covered pipe and made her way over to Deucalion. She guided him over to where Kara stood, still held captive by Ennis. Every nerve in her body was screaming for her to run as Deucalion reached out a hand to her face, but she was frozen in place. She couldn't have run even if she wasn't being held back. The Alpha's fingers gripped her jaw, pressing on the tender skin of her bruise and forcing her head to face him. Her eyes and nose stung with the threat of oncoming tears, but she held herself together.

"I was wondering when you were going to show up in Beacon Hills, Kara."

"What do you want with me?" she snarled, feeling a surge of anger for the monster in front of her.

"Oh, you'll know soon enough. Along with what it has to do with your powers."

And with that, Kara was dropped to the floor by her captor as the alpha pack strode out of the loft. Shaken by Deucalion's words, she sat with a hand clutching at where Ennis' claws had rested, trying to figure out what they meant. What did all of this have to do with her powers? What did _Deucalion_ want with her powers? A sudden thought struck her, so powerful that she had to squeeze her eyes shut for a moment. What if … what if Deucalion was the alpha she had been searching for? What if he was the one who had bitten her mother in the woods that night? Shock numbed her senses, drowning out everything else. If Deucalion was the alpha, then her mother's killer had just walked out of the door, knowing full well where she lived. He also knew about her supernatural powers, and Kara hated to imagine what else he knew about her. Kara had known it would be dangerous coming to Beacon Hills, but it was supposed to be a fresh start, a new life. Now she was playing a lethal game with a target on her back and a blindfold over her eyes.

* * *

"You need to heal. Let me do it."

Kara stood with her hand outstretched, waiting for Derek to hand over the cloth. She'd spotted him wincing as he worked to clean up the puddle of blood left on the concrete floor of the loft and had strode over, demanding to take over the job. Derek glanced up at her then, his guarded eyes meeting her steely ones. Her expression was hard, stone-like as she stared at him. Her face may have been impassive, but there was a fire dancing in her eyes, a fury boiling beneath her skin. Derek handed her the bloody cloth. In her current state, Kara was not a force to be opposed. She took it and the bucket of cleaning liquid from him wordlessly then began to vigorously scrub the floor. She closed her eyes at the sound of Derek wincing as he stood up, the trauma of what had occurred still too fresh. She could not ignore it, despite her best efforts to keep herself busy. She could still feel hands on her body, claws pressed against her neck. The way she had been dragged into the loft as if she were a ragdoll. Kara felt violated as if her body was no longer own; it had been contaminated, weakened. She clenched her hands into fists around the cloth as she scrubbed, hoping to stop them from shaking.

There was only one thing keeping Kara from slipping off the edge after what had just happened. It was the anger she felt pulsing through her veins, keeping her grounded. She'd felt it soon after Deucalion had left, a sudden rush of fury that made her want to scream and run after the monster who had dared to touch her. It was what made her rise from the ground after being beaten. _I am not weak._ She wanted Deucalion to know that. She would _make_ him know it, and then he wouldn't dare to touch her or anyone she cared about ever again.

The liquid in the bucket had been diluted with blood, tinting it red. It didn't matter. The concrete floor was now blood-free. Kara carried the bucket and cloth to the kitchen, noticing that the edges of her own shirt sleeves had been stained a dark crimson. She sighed and retreated to her room to change into a different top, one that she hadn't managed to wreck yet. Kara scanned the limited contents of her wardrobe. Damn. She needed more clothes.

Her phone buzzed violently on her bedside table. Startled, she hesitated before answering the call.

"Kara?" a voice asked.

" _Stiles?"_ Kara questioned, confused as to why the teenage boy would be calling her. "What are you—what's wrong? Did something happen?"

Stiles hurried into an explanation. "No—well, yes, actually. It's kinda sort of really messed up. You know the guy that was murdered at the pool and how we thought that Boyd and Cora did it?"

"...yeah."

"Not so sure it was them anymore."

Kara frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Scott's mum showed me the body and his injuries…they weren't something inflicted by a werewolf. He'd been strangled, his throat was cut and he'd been hit in the head by something. Boyd and Cora wouldn't have gone to all that trouble."

"Okay, so it wasn't them," Kara replied. "But why are you telling me this?"

"That's not all. There was a girl who died from the exact same injuries, and another kid winded up dead this morning. We…found him at cross country training."

Kara's jaw went slack with horror. She sat down on her bed, shaken by the news of multiple people—teenagers, no less—dying such awful deaths. "One person dying might have been a one-off incident, but three people…."

"Three people is a pattern."

Cora appeared suddenly outside Kara's room, confused by what she was hearing from the phone call. She gave Kara a questioning look and crept closer to stand in the doorway, but Kara only beckoned for her to sit on the bed next to her. After a moment of hesitation, Cora obliged.

"So what does it mean?" Kara asked, brows knitted together in thought.

"Well...I have an idea. Lydia found blood on the piano of a music teacher at our school who didn't show up today. We think he's been taken by someone—all of the people killed so far went missing before they died. There's another teacher who we think has gone missing as well, but he left a message. He wrote _Darach_ on test papers."

"He wrote what? Darack? What does that even mean?" Kara questioned, sharing a look of confusion with Cora.

Stiles sighed in frustration. " _Darach._ It's the Gaelic word for a dark druid."

"….you're gonna have to give me more than that."

"As I was _saying_ ," Stiles said pointedly, "these aren't just random killings. The first three people killed all had one thing in common—they were all virgins. Kyle and the two teachers who went missing all have ties to the army or military service of some kind."

"So what does that mean?"

"Would you just listen? I talked to Deaton since he always seems to know more than us—seriously, I think that he keeps us in the dark half the time just to screw with us, it wouldn't hurt just to tell us about what we need to know—"

Kara made an impatient noise, and Stiles hastily cut himself off. "My point is, I did heaps of research on ancient rituals and sacrifices—which Deaton already knew about, of course—and when I went to talk to him, he told me about something called a three-fold death."

"Head bashed in, throat cut and strangled," Kara realised, dread rising in her stomach at the thought of what Stiles was hinting at. "So you think these are…sacrifices?"

"Yeah. Human sacrifices."

Cora shook her head, giving Kara a meaningful look. "I don't know who you're talking to, but he sounds ridiculous," she deadpanned, rolling her eyes so hard that only the whites were visible. Kara didn't object—it was a pretty big reach.

"Human sacrifices? Really?" she questioned.

"Kara, you can literally omit a frequency that identifies werewolves, and Scott can magically transform into a mythical creature with glowing eyes and fangs whenever he chooses, but suddenly human sacrifices are hard to believe?"

"Ok, I get it," Kara relented. She was still sceptical of the notion, yet…. the injuries being inflicted on these poor people were so specific that they had to have had a purpose other than to kill. _Three-fold death._ Groups of three people. Three injuries. A sick feeling crawled through Kara at the realisation that it probably meant three groups of people were supposed to die.

Cora rose from the bed and left Kara's room, clearly losing interest in the conversation.

"So...why human sacrifices? What are they for?" Kara asked tentatively, not entirely sure if she wanted to hear the answer.

"I still have to figure that out," Stiles sighed, sounding different to the annoying, exuberant kid Kara had gotten to know. It reminded her of how young he was—sometimes Kara forgot that Scott and Stiles were only teenagers because of how heavily they were involved Beacon Hills' supernatural problems. Kara knew what it was like, to be a teenager and dealing with problems that weren't your own. She knew how much it had hurt her, and she felt a spark of anger at the knowledge of others having to endure the same heavy burden.

A sudden thought crossed Kara's mind. "How come you're telling me all this? I mean, usually, Scott's the communication owl here."

"Part of the deal is for you to help us with weird supernatural stuff, right? Besides," Stiles added after a moment, "I figured you'd hear me out. Scott's kind of on the fence with the whole human sacrifices thing."

Kara wasn't quite sure if that was a compliment or not, but she was glad he told her about what was going on—even if it did mean that she probably wouldn't be able to sleep that night. "What can I do to help?" she asked, feeling bad at the knowledge that there was little she could do.

"Research like hell. Focus on the Celts and their traditions, anything that mentions Druids, human sacrifices, Darachs, stuff like that."

"Ok, will do," Kara said.

"I have to go, I'll see if Deaton knows anything else that could help us."

"Alright. I'll call if I find anything. And Stiles?" Kara added before he could end the call. "Scott will come around."

A beep signalled the end of the call, and once again Kara was left with more questions than answers.

* * *

Kara rubbed her burning eyes for what felt like the hundredth time. There was a small voice in the back of her mind telling her to go to bed, but despite knowing it was right, Kara kept scrolling through website after website on her ancient laptop, which had started to whir loudly. Feeling a distant prick of alarm through the tired haze she was in, she set the laptop aside. The sound of rain suddenly reached her—she hadn't even realised it was storming outside. Kara had been researching for hours in an attempt to find out anything that would help Stiles figure out the reason behind the recent murders and had put together a small collection of book excerpts, quotes and pictures for Stiles to look at. She wasn't sure if what she had found was useful—she had come across quite a bit of information on the traditions of the Druids, but little of it made sense. Kara could take it to Deaton; he might be able to—

Kara's head snapped up at the sound of raised voices coming from outside her bedroom, her train of thought interrupted. Dread filled her—had the alpha pack come back? Kara crept over to her door and pressed her ear against it, relieved to hear that she recognised the voices as belonging to Derek and Isaac. Frowning at their harsh tones, she carefully opened her door and crept outside, going to see what they were arguing about. A dull throbbing started in her hip, but she ignored it. Their words became clearer to her as she moved closer, almost rounding the corner to the main part of the loft when she saw Cora, pressed against the brick wall. Lightning flashed, illuminating her drawn face, caught somewhere between misery and guilt. Her wide eyes found Kara and she pressed a finger to her lips. _Don't let them hear you._ Kara took up the same position as Cora against the wall and frowned in concentration, listening to the conversation metres away.

"I…I don't get it," came Isaac's disbelieving voice. "Did something happen?"

"It's just not gonna work with all of you here. I've got Cora now as well. It's too much," Derek's voice was detached, logical. Empty. Realisation stole Kara's breath. Was he going to kick her and Isaac out? He couldn't—they had a deal, and Isaac was a part of his _pack._ He had nowhere else to go.

"I need you out tonight," Derek continued with that same impassive voice, one that made Kara grit her teeth in anger.

Isaac gave a small laugh of disbelief. "Where am I supposed to go?"

"Somewhere else," Derek answered, exasperation creeping into his words as if he were dealing with a disobedient child. It was silent for a moment. Kara wondered if he were thinking about the weight of his words, the harm they would surely cause to his beta.

When Isaac broke the silence, his voice took on an undertone of unease. "Did I do something wrong, Derek?"

"You're doing something wrong right now by not leaving. Get out."

Isaac protested, still not accepting the fact that Derek could truly want him gone. "C'mon, Derek—"

"Go!"

Kara flinched as the sounding of shattering glass splintered the air. Her eyes wide with alarm and fury, she jerked forward, ready to lay into Derek for how unbelievable he was being, but a hand caught her wrist. Cora gave her a meaningful look as she pulled her back. There was something about Cora's eyes that told her it would do more harm than good, so she buried her anger and stormed off, feeling the thrum of her powers in her veins with each step. She'd come alive with fury, and so had her powers.

* * *

"What is this?" Scott walked into the loft, laying eyes on a group of people clustered around the dining table; Derek, Peter, Cora, Boyd and Kara.

Peter was the first to answer. "Isn't it obvious? The schemers are scheming. Coming up with a _coup de main,_ better known as a pre-emptive strike."

Kara knew what would come out of Scott's mouth next, his concerned eyes giving him away. "You're going after them?" he asked.

Derek straightened and folded his arms. "Tomorrow. And you're going to help us."

His eyes darted to Kara, who was studying the map laid out before them with a stony expression. He knew she'd been shaken by the alpha pack's appearance the day before. He'd seen the fury etched on her face before she had forced it down, where it boiled beneath the surface of her skin. It was like watching lava solidify into rock—except it could turn back at any time. Kara caught Derek's gaze and he quickly averted his eyes, clearing his throat. Kara's eyes lingered for a moment, remembering what he had said to her that morning.

 _Kara was sitting on her bed pulling on her boots, when Derek appeared in the doorway. "What?" she asked sharply when he didn't say anything. She could feel anger bubbling up in her chest—she was angry at Deucalion, angry at Derek, angry at the world. Kara needed to keep moving; sitting still in the loft was driving her crazy._

" _I just wanted to make sure you were okay. After yesterday..."_

" _I'm fine," she said curtly, lacing up her boots and trying not to snap at him. She didn't want to talk about what had happened with the Alpha pack, and she definitely wasn't pleased with Derek after what he had done to Isaac. Although Kara was pretty sure Derek wasn't talking about the latter._

" _I got a call from Scott," she said, standing up to stare directly at Derek. "Isaac is staying with him for the moment."_

 _Kara was satisfied and a little surprised to see guilt flash in Derek's eyes. She wanted him to feel guilty about what he had done, but she hadn't expected him to. Kara might have left right then if she hadn't of seen it and she hesitated as she grabbed her car keys. Something about his voice, the look in his eyes...it was very different from the night before, when he had kicked Isaac out._

" _Why did you make him leave?" The cold, razor-edged words were out of Kara's mouth before she could stop them._

 _Derek cast his eyes downwards, thinking for a moment, before he raised his head again to meet Kara's unrelenting, stony gaze. "The people around me...tend to get hurt. With the alpha pack in town, Isaac is safer living with someone else."_

 _Kara's gaze softened in surprise. He was worried he'd hurt Isaac because of what Deucalion wanted him to do? The anger that had been boiling under her skin reduced to a simmer; still there, but momentarily overcome by something stronger. Relief. Kara hadn't thought that Derek wanted to protect Isaac by pushing him away; she'd just thought he didn't care, and that scared her. Because if he didn't care...then what did the night that Kara had come home after nearly being kidnapped mean to him? She pushed the thought away, glad that she knew the real reason why Derek had wanted Isaac out. Even if it was unbelievably stupid._

" _You're an idiot," she said not unkindly, before pushing passed a bewildered-looking Derek._

"They're one floor above them in the penthouse—right above Allison."

Derek's voice snapped her back to the present and she inhaled sharply, catching up on the conversation.

"Does she know?" Kara interrupted, looking at Scott.

"I'm not sure," he replied. "So...we kill them first? That's the plan?"

"They won't even see it coming," Boyd insisted.

"Why is the default plan always murder? Just once, can someone try to come up with something that doesn't involve killing everyone?"

Kara clenched her jaw. She knew Scott was right, and there was a part of her that wanted nothing to do with a plan that involved murder—but there was also a part of her that wanted to be the one who killed Deucalion, who forced him to suffer like her mother had. It was the part of herself that was winning right now, and it terrified her.

"You never get tired of being so blandly moral, do you? Not that I disagree with him," Peter added, turning to Derek.

"I do," Cora piped up. "Why do we need this kid?"

"This kid helped save your life," Derek said, now facing Scott. "And you know we can't just sit back and wait for them to make the first move."

"We can't beat a pack of Alphas," Scott shot back.

"That's why we're going after Deucalion," Cora said. "Just him."

"You cut off the head of the snake and the body dies," Boyd said to Scott.

"Only this isn't a snake. It's a Hydra," Peter deadpanned. "And like Scott said, they're all Alphas."

"Deucalion is still the leader," Derek said pointedly.

"He might be," Kara piped up, "but the pack in his control are not made up of betas blindly following his lead. I'm betting they can function pretty well without Deucalion."

Peter raised his eyebrows at Derek, giving him an _I told you so_ look. "Let's hope that isn't the case. Because you know what happened when Hercules cut off one of the heads of the Hydra?"

"Two more grew back in its place," Scott answered.

Peter gave him an impressed smirk. "Someone's been doing their summer reading."

Scott ignored him. "So we're doing this tomorrow?"

Kara frowned in surprise. She hadn't expected Scott to accept the plan—at least, not without some changes to exclude…murder. Apparently, Derek thought the same, because he sounded a little confused when he said, "Yeah. Tomorrow night."

"Who's going?" Kara asked, eyes flitting at everyone.

"All of us. Except," Derek added when Peter started to protest, "for Peter."

"Still not up to fighting speed, you know," Peter winked at her.

"Yeah. I've heard." Kara said flatly.

"How's your hip?" Derek asked her in a business-like manner. His eyes scanned her face, taking in her stony expression.

Kara was slightly taken aback by the question. "It's fine," she said curtly, her tone clearly indicating that she was going, sore hip or couldn't sit this one out; part of the deal was her helping them to fight the alpha pack and she needed to fulfil that responsibility. Derek started rolling up the map, signalling the end of the meeting.

Scott threw a glance at Kara before he left the loft. She seemed different from the last time he had seen her—colder, more stoic. Scott had half-expected her to object to the plan to kill Deucalion, but she had remained silent. He's seen the gears turning in her head as they explained the plan. There was something lurking under the surface of her resigned façade—had something happened? Scott supposed that if it was something he needed to know about Kara would have told him, so he sighed and left the loft, dreading when he would have to return.

* * *

They were playing the waiting game again. Kara hated it, hated sitting still and waiting to do something. She yawned for the third time in two minutes, this one sending a shudder down her back. She had been out all day and had barely slept the night before, and she was feeling the effects of her lack of sleep. Kara chewed on her bottom lip. How was she supposed to go with the werewolves to take down Deucalion when she could barely stay awake? She wouldn't be able to protect herself properly if she wasn't fully aware of her surroundings.

Kara checked the time on her phone. They still had three hours left until Scott was supposed to meet them at the loft, meaning that she had more than enough time to catch up on some sleep…

Kara stood up suddenly and walked over to Cora, who raised a questioning eyebrow. _Family trait,_ Kara mused, a little surprised by the observation. "I need to catch up on some sleep before we go. Can you make sure I'm awake in time to leave?" she asked, aware of her track record of sleeping through alarms.

"Sure," Cora replied with a shrug.

Kara retreated to her bedroom, taking off her shoes and jacket. She set out her clothes for the attack and dug around in her duffel bag for the weapons she had nabbed before leaving her hometown for Beacon Hills; a small handgun and a hunting knife. They were admittedly pitiful, but it comforted Kara to know that she at least had something. Even if it might not do much against a werewolf. She grasped the silver handgun, feeling the familiar, cool metal against the skin of her hand. She tucked it and the knife into the convenient pocket on the inside of her jacket, then fell back against her bed, feeling sleep overcome her almost instantly.

* * *

Kara knew something was wrong the second she woke up. She could feel it in her bones—the loft was too quiet, the sky outside too dark. She fumbled around for her phone in her sluggish state and felt her stomach give a violent lurch as she checked the time. "Shit!" she gasped, leaping out of bed and wrenching her bedroom door open. Why hadn't Cora woken her up? Had she forgotten? No—she couldn't have. Still...they wouldn't have unintentionally left without her. Kara reached the main part of the loft and groaned in disbelief. It was empty, not a soul to be found. Heart thumping wildly, Kara pulled out her phone and called Scott. When he didn't answer, she called Derek. Then Cora, Boyd, and even Peter.

No answer.

Kara let out a string of profanities. She raced back to her room and shoved on her boots and jacket, then rushed to the loft door. She yanked on the handle, but the door resisted. Sure that she just hadn't pulled hard enough, Kara tried again, but it didn't budge. Realisation hit her with a heavy thud; it had somehow been locked from the outside.

Rage filled Kara's body. They'd locked her in! She pounded on the door, as if that would help her escape. She scanned the door for a lock of some sort but cursed when she came up empty. Why had she been trapped in the loft? Derek _knew_ she was going with them, the little shit—

But he hadn't wanted her to go, had he? She may not have seen it before, but she did now. The carefully concealed concern in his voice when he had asked her about her injured hip, coming to her bedroom and asking if she was okay. Evidently, he had ignored her answers both times and made his mind up about her physical state by himself, deeming her not able to handle coming along with them to take down Deucalion. Kara was seething, an overpowering fury sweeping through her body. How _dare_ he make decisions for her—she was an adult, not a defenceless child who needed to be protected.

Her mind reeled, trying to come up with a way out of this mess. Or a way out of the loft. The door must have somehow been locked from the outside, so if she got someone to come and unlock it…but who? Everyone she could have asked was probably with Derek and Scott at the moment.

Kara scrolled through her contacts and abruptly paused. Maybe there was someone she could call. She pressed on the number, breathing a sigh of relief when the person at the other end answered.

"Allison? It's Kara. I need your help."

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **Sorry I haven't updated in so long! I've been super busy with schoolwork, but I'm nearly on holidays so I'll have a lot more time to write.**

 **Let me know how you're liking the story so far - as always, constructive criticism and reviews are much appreciated!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

Her heart hammered against her chest as she raced up the stairs, taking them two at a time until she had to pause to catch her breath. She willed her breathing to slow, forcing herself into a state of calm and focus. It took longer to slip into that it had months ago. She had almost forgotten how much control was required to tie a leash around her emotions, to rein them in and shove them away, where they could not dictate her actions.

Almost. But not quite.

Allison reached the top of the stairs. She dismantled the lock on the loft door and slid it back, revealing a small blonde figure inside. Kara's head snapped up, revealing something like a grim determination on her face covering the fury simmering beneath. Kara had briefly explained on the phone to Allison that she'd ended up being left behind by Derek and the others. Locked inside the loft while they went to destroy Deucalion.

Kara didn't thank the teenager before her as she stalked out of the loft. "They'll be at an abandoned mall on the outskirts of town. Not far from the bank," she stated stonily. Allison nodded, following her down the many stairs to where her car—with a trunk-load of weapons—waited for them. She'd brought the crossbow Kara had used last time they'd seen each other, knowing that it would be needed again. A small part of her was fearful of what they were walking into, but another, bigger, part was relieved. Utterly relieved to finally be doing something to help, instead of hiding behind the promise she had made to her father. Allison's clenched her jaw at the reminder of the risk her actions posed to her relationship with him. If he found out about what she was doing...She didn't want to finish the thought.

Kara's expression was as cold and solid as marble as she climbed into Allison's car. Allison threw her a glance out of the corner of her eye, observing the blonde's tightly folded arms and tense body. She wanted to ask about how she'd ended up locked in the loft but now was not the right time. Later, maybe. After they had...after they had either won or lost this battle with Deucalion.

Not a word was spoken between them as they drove to the meeting place and pulled into the mall parking lot. Kara jumped out of the car the moment they came to a stop, a distant thrum in her veins. She was well aware of the power residing beneath the surface of her skin, itching to be spent, to be unleashed. Normally it would have scared her, but this time it made her feel powerful. Kara knew that she had little control over her abilities, but after feeling weak for so long...she lifted her chin higher, her shoulders squaring in preparation for what was to come.

"Here," Allison said, handing Kara the familiar, sleek crossbow she had used previously. She took it with a grateful nod, suddenly reminded of the gun and hunting knife in her jacket pocket. "How do we do this?" she asked, levelling Allison with a business-like stare. The teen was almost surprised at the question, forgetting that she was the hunter here. She had been trained for this, put through hours of gruelling lessons to make decisions and lead other hunters. Or other people, in this case. Kara was no hunter, but as Allison met her unflinching gaze she recognised the gleam in her eyes as that similar to the one she had seen in her fellow hunters—one that she probably possessed herself. Allison took her own bow and quiver out of the trunk and started towards the mall entrance. "We observe," she instructed, "then wait for the right time to strike. We should be able to get a vantage point somewhere up high—a floor directly above if we can."

Kara nodded without any comment. She didn't know what they would be walking into—it could have turned into a bloodbath, for all she knew. It couldn't be that easy to eliminate Deucalion. Kara had only seen him once, but even that meeting had been enough to make her stomach roil at the mere mention of his name. And she had definitely learned enough about him to know that he was not one to be caught unaware.

Allison put a finger to her lips as they entered the mall. Quiet—they would have to be silent if they wanted to remain undetected. No noise had reached them yet, but as they ventured further into the dusty, neglected building, they began to hear the jarring sounds of fighting. Distant roars and growls echoed throughout the building, and goosebumps appeared on Kara's arms. She glanced over at Allison, whose face was tight with concentration and something else. Something that made Kara's stomach clench and sent her mind spinning with anxiety.

She prayed that her worry for Scott and the others was not warranted.

They climbed up a flight of stairs, carefully avoiding shards of glass and pieces of rubble in the process. The shouts of pain and furious roars became louder now, almost unbearable to listen to as they reached a spot that seemed to be right above the fighting—and as they neared the edge of a floor that lacked barriers to stop people from falling, Kara realised that it was. Allison gave her a wide-eyed look and jerked her head, motioning for her to creep forward. Slowly. Allison pulled out an arrow from her quiver and notched it, keeping the tip lowered to the ground but poised for action. Kara did the same with her crossbow. She gripped the handle tightly as the sounds of fighting ceased. What had happened? Had someone been killed? It was an effort not to peer over the edge of the floor, but Kara knew that doing so would give her away. Allison paused and held up a hand, motioning for Kara to do the same. They stilled, waiting as conversation reached them. Deucalion's unnervingly casual voice floated up from the floor below them and Kara clenched her jaw at the sound. Allison shook her head, as if sensing that Kara's anger. _Wait,_ Allison's eyes seemed to say. So they waited.

"Kill him," Deucalion ordered. A moment of silence, then, "The others can go."

Kara's mind spun, trying to work out what he meant. Realisation, cruel and unforgiving, dawned on her. Derek. He wanted Derek to kill one of his pack members—but who?

"You're beaten," Deucalion continued. "Do it, Derek. Take the first step."

Kara shot a pointed pleading look at Allison. Now—they needed to act now. But Allison only shook her head. _Not yet,_ she mouthed.

Kali's sharp voice cut in. "Are we serious with this kid? Look at him. He's an alpha—to what? A couple of useless teenagers?"

"Some have more promise than others."

"Let him rise to the occasion then," Kali suggested in a dangerous tone. "What will it be Derek? Pack, or family?"

Kara's heart lurched as someone cried out in pain. A warning for Derek. She shot another glance at Allison, who gave the slightest of nods and strode forwards with her bow drawn. Kara followed, heart slamming against her ribcage as she neared the edge of the floor and laid eyes upon the scene below her—but she didn't have time to hesitate, to stop and linger on the look on Derek's face. Allison and Kara fired together, raining down flash-bang arrows on the werewolves. The first one hit the alpha twins, who Kara had noticed with an ounce of terror had conjoined to form some kind of mega-werewolf. She watched with satisfaction as they were flung back, and the shrieks of the alpha pack began to fill the air. Kara let arrow after arrow fly. Only a few managed to find a target, but it didn't matter—the blinding flashes of light were enough to disorientate the alpha pack, forcing them to release the werewolves they had been holding hostage.

"Your eyes!" Deucalion shouted at his pack. "Cover your eyes!"

His words were drowned out by the whistling of arrows and explosions, and through the clouds of smoke, Kara could see that he was now crouching on the escalator, cowering with alarm. _Good,_ she thought. Let him feel out of control and fearful for once.

Allison fired her last arrow and stood proudly as Scott and the others rose, regaining their strength. Kara lowered her crossbow warily, eyeing the werewolves down below. Ennis gave a warning growl as he faced Scott, who roared in answer, his body a tightly wound coil waiting to spring free. Kara watched on wide with eyes as they ran towards each other; the big, hulking form of Ennis somehow not swaying the determination on Scott's face. With a sickening thud that reverberated through the air they collided, the force sending them both reeling backwards. Scott landed on his feet, head bowed. Kara inhaled sharply as she caught sight of his face. She turned wide eyes on Allison, who's expression mirrored the shock that Kara felt. She shot a glance at Scott's face just to make sure that she hadn't imagined it, what she thought she had seen. But there it was—his eyes, glowing brightly in the dim building, had transformed from their usual golden yellow to a vibrant, ruby red. The eyes of an Alpha.

But Scott squeezed his eyes shut, and when they opened again his golden irises had returned.

Derek came out from behind an unaware Ennis and struck his back, sending him stumbling forwards. They fought in a blur of movement, jaws snapping and claws slashing through the air, trying to find skin to tear at. Great, monstrous growls resonated around them, a terrible sound that unearthed repressed memories in Kara's mind. Her mother, turned half-mad with the pain of transforming, roaring in agony. The growls of the werewolf who had attacked them that fateful night. The memories and sounds piled up in Kara's mind, confusing her senses so much so that she could no longer distinguish between the sounds coming from the brawling werewolves and the sounds coming from inside her own head. She watched with the dull sensation of seeing but not comprehending as Derek and Ennis neared the edge of the floor, each gripping onto the other in an attempt to gain the upper hand. Scott lurched forward and flung out a clawed-hand, raking it across Ennis' calf. The alpha roared in pain and arched his back, then fell silent. No growling, no noise came from either Derek or Ennis as they started to tip backwards. The sudden loss of noise snapped Kara out of her reverie and with mind-numbing force realisation slammed into her. She knew what was happening now as Derek and Ennis tipped over the edge, no more floor left to catch them. Only cold, hard concrete waited for them at the bottom.

Kara collapsed onto her hands and knees, crossbow clattering to the ground. She gripped the edge of the dusty floor so hard that the tips of her fingernails bent, as if she needed something to keep her from falling too. She locked eyes with Derek, his face a mask of utter disbelief, and in that moment Kara knew that she would never be able to stop seeing his face as he fell. The image of his face as he looked at her for the last time would be forever implanted in her brain, a cruel reminder of her loss.

"No," she breathed, as Derek disappeared over the edge and the world exploded into light.

* * *

 _It was strange, at first. Darkness enveloped her, tugging her down, but Kara found that she didn't mind it. A sense of relief came with giving in to the riptide of numbness, and she became weightless, floating. There was nothing that could touch her here. Nothing to harm her. Just an endless expanse of night, of darkness lulling her to sleep. She wanted to delve deeper into this state of bliss, but there was something pulling on her mind, holding her back._

" _Kara," a voice whispered, urging her to respond. It was the voice of a girl. Recognition stirred in Kara, enough so that when the person called her name again she waded through thick blankets of bliss and forced her way out of the darkness._

"Kara, we have to go."

A figure was hovering over her, blurry and unrecognisable. Kara blinked a few times and Allison's face materialized, pinched and contorted with concern. Her eyes were scanning Kara's face, wide with something that made her seem a lot younger than she was. _Fear,_ Kara noted detachedly. But fear of what?

There was a strange ringing in her ears, like she had been exposed to a lot of noise that had abruptly ceased. Cold seeped into her back, and she realised that she was lying on the floor of…wherever she was. Allison stood back, allowing Kara to see her surroundings. A dim, dusty building, with escalators and…and floors with no railings.

"Oh my god," she gasped, lurching upright. Head spinning, she scrambled to her feet and swayed unsteadily. Allison gripped her shoulders, balancing the blonde, who looked as though she were about to throw up. Kara looked at her with wide eyes so full of pain that it tore at Allison's heart. "I'm sorry," the younger girl said softly, but Kara only shook her head and pulled away. She moved to the edge of the floor they were on and knelt down, staring at the scene below her. She could see figures retreating—she recognised Scott, with Isaac gripping his shoulders and pulling him towards the exit. Kara closed her eyes, memories flooding in. It didn't seem real. It _couldn't_ be real. But she kept seeing him fall, kept seeing his face before he disappeared over the edge…

And a flash of blinding white light.

She whirled on Allison. "What happened after Derek—" she choked on his name and fell silent, her reeling mind unable to form words. Allison gave her a sad smile, but there was worry in her eyes. "There was this…I'm not really sure how to explain it, but I think you did something with your powers. It was like liquid fire but…maybe more like solid, golden light. It kind of came from your hands and swarmed around you, and then when it cleared you were unconscious," Allison explained. "It scared off the alpha pack. They left not long after they saw it."

Kara stared at her hands, as if expecting to see a golden substance pouring from it. "We should go," Allison said firmly, but not unkindly. "My father doesn't know I'm here, and if he found out…"

Kara nodded absentmindedly, her body moving of its own accord as it straightened up and followed Allison out of the mall, leaving without so much as a backward glance at the place where she had lost a piece of herself. A piece of hope.

* * *

The loft seemed even more dreary than usual as Kara stared numbly at the big, arched window that illuminated the room with pale, watery light. A book was perched on a chair that had been drawn up to sit next to the window. Kara's book. It seemed a lifetime ago that she had been sitting there, reading. Unaware of what was to come.

Kara rubbed her eyes groggily. She had unintentionally fallen asleep the moment that Allison had dropped her back at the loft, still drained from what had happened with her powers. She'd woken up thinking that it had all been a dream—the fight at the mall, the explosion of her powers—but it wasn't long before the memories started flooding in, bringing the sharp pang of realisation with them. She steeled herself and rose from her position on the couch, distantly wondering where Cora was—and Peter, for that matter. He had his own place, yet he hung around the loft a lot; far too much for Kara's liking. Still, she might have even preferred his presence over the eerie silence that seemed to engulf the loft. Having nothing to distract her made it too easy to think, to become lost in memories. Kara forced herself to tie up her hair into a ponytail, her arms heavy and movements sluggish.

It didn't seem real. It all seemed like a hellish dream that she would eventually wake up from and forget—the fight with the alpha pack, shooting arrows with Allison, the silence of the loft. Derek's death. She half expected him to come walking around a corner, or see him sitting on the spiral staircase.

Almost robotically, Kara picked up her phone and unlocked it. A message from Cora popped up on the screen—probably something about where she was, Kara mused. Her assumption hadn't been entirely wrong, she realised as she read the message, but there was something else in it—something that broke through the numb haze that had settled over Kara. She was still for a moment, hardly daring to believe what she had read. It was dangerous to be hopeful, she knew. Too much had been taken from her—what would it cost her to pour herself into blind hope only for it be ripped away? What would it do to her to feel that kind of loss all over again?

Still, a part of her was desperate to cling onto any shred of faith there was, so she headed out of the loft, trying not to dive too deep into the hope bubbling in her chest.

* * *

 _Meet at the animal clinic,_ Cora's text had said. Kara gripped the steering wheel tightly as she drove to the Vet, remembering when they had tried to recover Isaac's suppressed memories of the Alpha Pack. The thought of the young werewolf sent a pang through her chest. He had been there that night, when they had fought against Deucalion and the others. He had seen Derek die—had seen his _alpha_ die, something that Kara couldn't even begin to imagine. Scott had lost him as well, as a mentor and someone who had not always done the right thing but had been there right from the beginning of Scott's introduction to the supernatural world.

But then again, they wouldn't have to mourn the loss of Derek if he wasn't dead.

Cora had said that it was only a guess—she and Peter had gone back to the mall and discovered that the bodies of Derek and Ennis were missing, meaning that one, or both of them, could be alive. A guess, Kara had to remind herself. She couldn't let her hopes rise too high; it would only end in more misery if they found out that Derek didn't make it. She could still see his face in memories that played over and over again in her head, each one bringing a fresh wave of pain. They brought frustration too—she had only known him for a short amount of time, so why was she so affected by his death? Sure, they had trained together and she had lived in his loft ever since she got to Beacon Hills, but through it all Derek had remained almost completely closed off from her. She'd only ever glimpsed the person beneath his hardened exterior a few times; a person who had been betrayed before but was still willing to make a deal with her, who had trained with her and wanted to help figure out her powers. Someone who had cared.

Kara gave a heavy sigh. Something hidden, carefully tucked away into the back of her mind surfaced, and Kara knew that she didn't have to look far for the answer. An unwilling, wary part of her had known it for a while.

Kara parked just down the street from the Vet and started towards the back entrance. With a twinge of anger, Kara made a mental note to ask Cora exactly how she had been left behind by the pack when Kara had specifically asked the younger Hale sibling to wake her up beforehand. Although she didn't want to admit it, underneath the anger there was a pang of sadness. She couldn't have meant much to the pack if they had so readily left her behind, a thought that hurt her more than it should have. There was also the matter of her deal with them—how was she supposed to fulfil her end of it and expect them to do the same if they brushed her off every time she tried to help? It made her worry about how much effort they would put into helping her find out who was responsible for her mother's death—although if Kara's unnerving suspicions were right, they wouldn't have to look far. Kara going with the pack to take down Deucalion could have been her opportunity to find out the truth, but instead she had been left behind, forgotten.

Kara increased her pace, boots angrily thudding into the pavement. She entered the car park of the clinic and peered around, looking for the familiar faces of Cora and Peter. It would have been helpful for Cora to specify exactly where they were—but after a minute of searching, Kara spotted two figures partially hidden behind a parked car. Peter and Cora whipped around as Kara approached them, her mouth set in a hard line. Cora had a strange look on her face—a mixture of guilt and hesitancy, as if there was conflict inside of her. There was something else there too, something like suspicion—although Kara couldn't imagine why. She felt a pang of sympathy for the girl beneath her anger. Kara reminded herself that Cora lost someone last night, but then Kara remembered that _she_ had lost something that night as well—a chance to find answers, a person who had strengthened her in many ways—and she hardened, facing Cora and Peter with a steely gaze.

"So nice of you to finally join us," Peter greeted her cheerfully. Kara ignored him and turned to Cora, swallowing down her anger for the moment. There were more important matters at hand than finding out why Kara had been left behind.

"So why the animal clinic? Who's in there?" Kara asked.

"I'm not exactly sure of that, or how to get in—the building is half made out of mountain ash," Peter answered, gazing thoughtfully at the building.

Cora rolled her eyes. "Well, maybe we could do what normal people do, and knock on the door."

She started towards the clinic, but Peter caught her arm before she could go any further. Kara noticed the alert look on his face. "What is it?" she demanded, eyes flickering between Peter and the parking lot, looking for any sign of danger.

"They're here," Peter said without looking at her.

"Who?" Cora asked, frowning.

"All of them."

Kara heartbeat quickened. She knew who Peter was talking about; the alpha pack— _all_ of them—were here, inside the clinic. And judging from the grim look on Peter's face, Kara guessed that Ennis was here as well. It made sense—Deucalion, upon finding Ennis still alive, would have brought him to Deaton, someone who knew of the supernatural world and had the skills to save Ennis. But Derek's body had been missing from the mall too—could Deucalion have taken him to animal clinic as well?

"How do we know who's in there? Is it Derek or Ennis or…both?" Cora questioned, voicing Kara's thoughts. Peter didn't have a chance to answer—the back door to the clinic suddenly swung open and out spilt a distraught-looking Kali, followed by one of the twins. Cora, Peter and Kara ducked down, pressing themselves against the side of a car to avoid being seen. Kara craned her head out as much as she dared, getting a glimpse of the two alphas. She frowned as Kali ran a hand through her hair, obviously distressed. Something had happened, and it must have bad to warrant such a reaction from the vicious alpha. Kara watched with wide eyes as Ethan—or Aiden, she couldn't tell—reached out a hand for Kali, placing it on her arm in what appeared to be a comforting manner. Kali turned away from him, then threw her head back and let out a pain-filled roar so great that it set off car alarms throughout the parking lot.

"Well I know one thing," Peter murmured as they discreetly crept away from the clinic, Kali's roar still thundering in Kara's chest. "That wasn't for Derek."

* * *

Kara surveyed the small café with only mild interest. A young, red-haired girl sat alone in a corner, her face illuminated by the screen of her laptop. Closer to Kara, an elderly couple were drinking coffee, talking between sips of the drink. The man said something to his wife and grinned proudly when she chuckled, shaking her head in mock exasperation. Something in Kara's chest ached at the sight, and a deep chasm of longing opened up beneath her. She wasn't exactly sure what she saw in them that she wanted for herself—to laugh freely like that, to have to someone to grow old with—but she knew that it was something she had been missing for a long, long time.

Kara turned her attention to the girl sitting in front of her. After leaving the animal clinic, Kara and Cora had decided to grab some lunch; mercifully, Peter didn't join them. There hadn't been much of a conversation about it really—Cora had said something about getting food, and Kara had wordlessly gone along with her. The car ride to the café had been swathed in a painfully awkward silence. Kara had meant to talk to Cora about the night before, but the words wouldn't form in her mouth. They stayed buried beneath the surface, where they burned and writhed like snakes on fire.

She met Cora's eyes; guarded as they were, they did nothing to hide the impatience brimming in the set of her face. They'd finished eating a while ago, and now Kara only had her coffee left to finish. It didn't take long before Cora cracked with sigh and finally spoke, her voice surprisingly sincere.

"I didn't want to leave you behind," Cora began, knowing what was on Kara's mind without her having to say it. "Your hip was still healing and Derek…he didn't want you to go, in case it turned bad—which it did. He asked me not to tell you because he knew you'd refuse and go anyway."

Kara stiffened. It took her a few moments just to comprehend what Cora had said, but when she did, her blood boiled with renewed fury and heat crept up her neck. Derek had no right to completely disregard her wish to go, even if he thought he was doing it for her own good. Kara had suspected that he had been the reason why she was left behind, but to hear it from Cora….A pang shot through Kara's chest, and she cursed herself for caring enough to feel the sting of betrayal that lanced through her. She hardened, feeling her anger rush to the surface once more.

"And you just went along with it? You just agreed to leave me behind?" Kara fumed, turning wide and accusing eyes on Cora, who had the good sense to look a little guilty.

"Derek was right, Kara. You would have gotten hurt."

"That's not the point! You and Derek went behind my back and stopped me from doing the only damn thing I have to do for my end of the deal."

Cora sighed. "I know I should have told you that Derek didn't want you to come, but you risking your neck to help us wasn't part of the deal."

She didn't get it. Kara hadn't just wanted to go so that she could help out—she wanted to get answers. She wanted to know why Deucalion was so interested in her and her powers, and why she felt a chill run down her spine—that had nothing to do with the fact that he was one of the most powerful werewolves she knew—every time someone mentioned his name. Kara had her suspicions about him being the alpha she was looking for, but she'd lost a precious opportunity to investigate the matter.

Kara drained the rest of her coffee and stood up.

"You know why else I wanted to go? I wanted answers. I wanted to find out what Deucalion knows about me, because I'm betting it's a lot more than I know about myself."

Cora's eyes widened a fraction. "You don't think he could be—"

"—the alpha that bit my mother? I don't know. Thanks to Derek, I didn't get the chance to ask, and who knows when I'll see Deucalion next."

Cora didn't miss the sharpness of her words or her biting tone. Derek had only wanted to keep Kara safe—for reasons Cora had yet to figure out—but she could see now, even if Kara wouldn't admit it, that it had hurt her to be lied to.

"I'm sorry," Cora said, sounding as though she struggled to get the words out. "I didn't realise…anyway, you can give Derek an earful when we find him."

Kara was surprised by her words, and even more perplexed when some of the fire burning within her seemed to subside. She wondered what Cora had been about to say before she cut herself off; what she had failed to realise.

Kara lingered for a moment, surveying the young girl's face before saying a quick goodbye and heading out of the café, Cora's words ringing in her head. _When we find him._ She had sounded so sure, so certain that he was alive. Why did it surprise Kara? She should be certain as well; it made sense for Derek to be alive. His body had gone missing from the mall, which meant that he had to have walked out of there—right?

Kara huffed in frustration. She knew that it made sense, that everything she had witnessed and everything she had been told pointed to Derek being alive, but she still couldn't let herself believe it. _Wouldn't_ let herself believe it. Because if she got her hopes up and found out that he truly was dead…

It would hurt her. Badly. Badly enough that the thought sent a sharp pang of fear running through her—and Kara, despite having squashed it down and pushed it away, knew why.

She had to be sure. She had to see it with her own eyes. Apart from seeing Derek fall, the night they fought the Alpha Pack was a blurry memory in her brain, and that didn't sit well with her. But maybe if she went back….Kara steeled herself, feeling determination fill her limbs and strengthen her stride. She didn't quite know what possessed her to do it, but she hopped in her car and drove to the place where she had lost a piece of herself.

It was time for her to get it back.

* * *

Kara winced as she heard the crunch of broken glass underneath her shoe, the sound seeming to echo throughout the dim building.

Her footsteps became more careful after that, although she didn't know why she was trying to be so stealthy. As far as she knew, no one else was here—and no one else had any reason to be here. Not that Kara did either.

What had she been thinking, coming back to the abandoned mall? All that was there was broken glass, rubble, and a layer of dust that covered everything. And some nasty claw marks gouged into the concrete. Nothing of use to her—nothing that could give her the answers she needed.

Kara sighed, staring grimly at the ledge that she and Allison had shot arrows from. They had made footprints in the dust, she noticed with little interest. Her mind was on the memories that began surfacing as she inched closer to the ledge, remembering what she had seen that fateful night. She cast her eyes to the edge of the floor down below and saw Derek falling, his wide eyes locked on hers for a split second before he disappeared into nothing.

And then _she_ had disappeared into nothing.

Kara tore her eyes away, not wanting to see that moment on replay in the place that it had happened. It felt too real. She remained near the edge of the floor, where she had stood that night, but stared at the ground. Curiosity flickered inside her and she frowned. It could have just been her eyes played tricks on her, but the ground underneath her feet seemed…different, somehow. Different to the rest of the floor. She crouched down and swiped a finger across the surface, then surveyed it with narrowed eyes.

No dust.

Kara rose slowly as she scanned the rest of the floor—and sure enough, when she looked for it she could see the slight colour difference between the dusty ground and the cleaner ground. She might have been able to brush it off as nothing if it weren't for the fact that a perfect circle of dust-free floor had been formed—and she was standing right in the centre of it.

Her memories were a little murky, but she could piece together most of what had happened after Derek had fallen from what she had seen and what Allison had told her. Being in this place helped to jog her memory, and as Kara focused she could recall seeing a bright light before fading into unconsciousness. A light that, according to Allison, had come from _her_. Had that been why Cora had given her an odd look? Kara had thought it was suspicion, but maybe it was something else—maybe it was uncertainty. Uncertainty of who, or what, Kara was.

She couldn't blame her. She was standing in the middle of a dust circle created by the power that had burst from her body—power that had, for whatever reason, repelled dirt and dust and left her in a neat, clean circle. Kara's eyes widened as a thought struck her. What if this power didn't just repel dust and dirt, but people as well?

A distant sound reached Kara's ears—footprints, coming from the floor below her. Her heart pounding, she slowly backed away, frantically searching for somewhere to hide. Spotting a wide pillar a few metres away, she crept to it as soundlessly as possible and hid behind it, fighting to keep her breath under control. She could still hear the slow, deliberate footsteps down below. Kara prayed that it was just a teenager who'd decided to check out the creepy, abandoned mall and not someone who posed a threat to her—like a member of Deucalion's Pack. She shuddered at the thought. If one of them was here, then she was already dead. But the footsteps continued and Kara heard nothing else. Surely if it was a member of the Alpha Pack then they would have made themselves known? Subtlety wasn't really their style, as far as Kara knew. But she had to make sure that she wasn't in any real danger, so she ever so slowly inched her face out from behind the pillar and peered at the ground below her.

It was a man. He wore dark clothing, and sported greying, closely-cropped hair. Kara caught a glimpse of his face—clean-shaven and alert, his eyebrows pulled into what looked like a permanent frown. She didn't recognise him, and her breathing eased a bit. Still, she watched him warily as he moved around the place with careful footsteps and studied the floor with narrowed eyes. He looked like he had a purpose—one that Kara intended to discover. The man bent down to study something on the floor, and as Kara squinted at it, she could see that he was looking at claw marks gouged into the concrete, accompanied by a splatter of dark blood. The stranger traced his fingers across the marks, mimicking the action of clawing at the floor. Was he wondering what had happened here, why there were bloodstains and scratches everywhere?

The man rose, then turned his attention to a section of the wall opposite him. It looked as though something—or someone—had been thrown against it, producing a gaping, jagged hole in the wall. The man turned slightly towards Kara and she caught sight of his face. Her mouth went dry. It was a masking of grim understanding, like he knew what had happened here.

The buzz of a cell phone interrupted the near-silence, startling Kara. She quickly whipped back behind the pillar, in case the stranger decided to look up in the right place. She waited with a racing heart as she heard him answer the phone, his deep, gravelly voice echoing throughout the building. She frowned, listening to his words, trying to figure out who he was talking to.

"Do you want me to come pick you up? I don't mind a late night drive."

A kid, Kara guessed from the tone of his voice. It was concerned. Caring. Different to what she had expected to come from a man with his face. No matter how hard Kara listened, she couldn't hear more than an indecipherable string of words from the other end of the call.

"Did the school pay for that?" the man questioned. Definitely a kid then. Probably a high school student, if they were staying overnight somewhere. And if they had a phone. "What's it called?" the man continued, and the teen at the other end of the call answered, their words inaudible to Kara. "It uh, sounds familiar. Listen, sweetheart, I'm gonna hop in the car and come get you guys."

A daughter, then. Something niggled at the back of Kara's mind, but she ignored it, focusing on the conversation.

"If there's something you feel like you can't tell me, I just want you to know you can talk to me. We don't have to keep anything from each other, Allison."

 _Oh._ Surprise jolted through Kara's body, and she cursed herself for not realising it sooner. The man standing below her was Allison's father, another werewolf hunter—but what was he doing here?

He must have somehow known about the fight that took place here, and based on what he had said to Allison on the phone, Kara suspected that he knew she was involved somehow. Kara dared a glance down below. Allison's father was studying a mark on a concrete pillar, the sight of it uprooting a memory in Kara's mind. It was where a flash-bang arrow had hit, taking a chunk out of the pillar and leaving soot on the concrete. Evidence of Allison's involvement.

Kara felt a distant, itching in her nose. _Oh no._ She cursed internally, damning the dusty and dirty building, and braced herself for what would inevitably happen. When the sneeze came, she managed to stifle it as best as she could, but it wasn't quite silent. Kara went still, hardly daring to breathe. She hoped that the hunter had missed the noise.

Kara waited for what seemed like an eternity. The building went eerily quiet, save for the drip of water somewhere nearby. No footsteps sounded. There was nothing. Kara could hear her pulse in her ears, a constant thrum picking up speed as the minutes went by. Had Allison's father left? She wanted to check, but stayed frozen in place, not wanting to be discovered. She waited another minute before carefully peering out from behind the pillar at the floor below her. There was no sign of the hunter, and Kara didn't know whether to be relieved or alarmed. A quick scan of the space around her told her that he wasn't up here and if he wasn't on the floor below…Kara listened to the quiet for a few moments, then stepped out of her hiding place.

"Turned around and face me. Slowly."

Fear struck Kara's heart. Shit. _Shit._ How had he managed to sneak up on her like this? How had she not heard him? She carefully lifted her palms and turned around, making it clear that she had nothing to hurt him with. Not that she could hurt him, with a silver gun pointed straight at her head. Kara faced the hunter, fighting to keep the fear from her face. She glanced nervously at the gun, poised right between her eyes.

"Who are you?" the hunter questioned her, his voice completely different to when he had been talking to his daughter. Then, it had been concerned, caring. Now it was cold and blunt, shaped by years of training and the things he had seen and done.

"Kara Grayson," she replied, trying not to let fear warp the strength of her voice. He was just a man, she reminded herself. _Yeah, a man who also happened to be a trained werewolf hunter with a gun pointed straight at my face._

His face showed no flicker of recognition. Allison wouldn't have mentioned her to him because of her wish to keep her involvement with the supernatural world a secret, but Kara supposed that didn't matter now. He already knew.

"I'm a friend of Scott McCall's. And I know Allison," she added quietly, wondering if it was the right thing to say.

Kara saw his grip on the gun tighten. "How do you know my daughter."

She swallowed at the dangerous tone of his voice. "I came to Beacon Hills looking for answers. My mother was killed—she'd been bitten by an alpha, and I'm trying to find out who it was," Her voice caught on the last sentence, and she could have sworn that she saw sympathy flicker in the hunter's eyes. "I made a deal with Scott and Derek Hale,"—the hunter frowned at that—"and in return for their help I would help them with the…supernatural problems in this town."

"How does my daughter fit into that?"

"I think you know," Kara said quietly, not expecting to hear a small, resigned sigh from the man. Kara frowned, eyeing the gun. She cleared her throat and made a show of displaying her bare hands, and the hunter reluctantly lowered his gun. Despite doing so, his eyes still held caution as he surveyed her, looking for any potential threats. Not that there were any. At least, Kara thought, not until she figured out her powers.

The hunter jerked his head to the floor below them. "Do you know what happened here?"

"I thought you already knew."

"I know _what_ not _who_."

Meaning that he knew that it was werewolves, but not which werewolves. Kara narrowed her eyes. It was one thing to tell him who she was—Kara didn't see how he could use that against her—but would it be wise to tell him about the Alpha pack? Did she trust him enough? He was Allison's father, she supposed, but parents didn't always side with their kids.

"I don't know much about them yet," Kara said, choosing her words carefully, "but I know that they're a pack made up entirely of Alphas. I think they came to Beacon Hills to…recruit."

A deep frown appeared on the hunter's face at her words. Technically, Kara wasn't lying—she didn't actually know that much about them, but it was more than she was letting on. Like who they were, and who they were after.

Chris Argent scanned the face of the girl before him. He wasn't sure exactly how old she was, but she couldn't have been much older than Allison. It angered him that someone that young had experienced the tragedy that werewolves could bring—yet here she was, trusting the species that had killed her mother. He didn't know whether that made her brave or naïve. Maybe both.

Kara raised her eyebrows slightly as the hunter gave her a look that she could not decipher. He glanced below, to the pillar that had been hit by a flash-bang arrow.

"I haven't known her for long, but I do know that Allison can't just stay out of all this. Not when the lives of her friends are at stake," Kara said, feeling the need to defend Allison. She'd helped her when Kara had needed it most.

The hunter shot her a sharp look, but something in his eyes had changed. Some part of him knew that this stranger, this person who knew Allison, was right. And it scared him.

He turned to leave the mall, but hesitated as he was about to head down the stationary escalator. "As soon as I know enough information, I can start tracking them," he said, not quite sure why he was telling her this. She nodded, and a part of her was relieved to know that there was someone else looking into the Alpha Pack. She probably should have told him more about them, but she had a feeling he would find out soon enough.

Without looking at her, the hunter said, "I hope you know what you're doing."

 _I hope so too,_ Kara thought as he disappeared from her view.

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **Since I haven't updated in a while, here's an extra-long chapter for you to enjoy :)**


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

The sunrise was much too pleasant, much too bright to follow the draining night Kara had endured. It was almost insulting that the sky had flared into such beauty—a blend of oranges and pinks that bathed the land in watery light—when all was not well. She turned her back on the blazing sky and locked her car before striding up the footpath to Derek's building. A yawn shuddered through her body and her eyelids dipped. She desperately wanted to collapse into bed and fall asleep. If, despite her exhaustion, she would even be able to get to sleep. Derek was still missing, and him somehow being at the loft was her last hope. Cora's last hope too.

Kara paused as a compact, red car pulled out of the building's car park and sped off down the road. It looked familiar, as if she had seen a fleeting glance of it before. Kara brushed it off as nothing—really, she had to have seen a million red cars before. Still, that car pulling out of Derek's building didn't give her a good feeling, so she quickened her pace and climbed the many stairs leading to the loft. She did a quick scan of her surroundings through tired eyes; nothing seemed out of place or askew at the landing of the loft, so she finally faced the sliding door. Kara had to remind herself to breathe as her hand gripped the door handle. What would she do if Derek wasn't inside? She had exhausted every other possibility of his whereabouts that she could think of—there was nowhere else left to look. Before her mind could spin itself into a frenzy by thinking about what it would mean if Derek wasn't here, Kara took a deep breath and slid back the loft door, steeling herself for what she would find.

Kara's eyes flitted across the loft. Nothing. Her heavy heart plummeted and sank—but then a flicker of movement to Kara's right caught her eye, and she was holding her breath as a figure near Derek's bed spun around to face her. The air whooshed out of Kara's chest at the sight of Derek's face— _Derek,_ here and alive and well—and she abruptly started forward, as if to rush to him, but caught herself. He just stood next to his half-made bed with a fistful of sheets hanging limp at his side and stared at her, his jaw slack in a way that Kara had never seen it before. She must have looked as relieved as she felt, because something in Derek's face softened. He slowly made his way over to where she stood and Kara found herself scanning every detail of him, as if he would disappear at any given moment.

"You're alive," Kara breathed. A stupid, unnecessary thing to say, but Kara couldn't bring herself to care. She could feel her protective curtain slipping, leaving everything to show through on her face, and a panicked voice screamed at her to pull it closed quickly—before Derek saw too much. She couldn't bring herself to care about that either. "How…how did you survive?"

"It takes more than that to kill me," Derek said, the corner of his mouth quirking up into an apologetic smile. He was surprised by the stricken look on her face, and guilt rose up in his throat. He should have called sooner, let them know that he was alive as soon as he could hold a phone, but he had been…preoccupied. He shifted uncomfortably.

"I woke up on the escalator—Ennis was still there, but I thought he was dead so I left him. I managed to make it here, and my body eventually healed itself."

"Ennis is actually dead, by the way. Deucalion brought him to Deaton, but he mustn't have been able to save him," Kara said, but then her brow furrowed as her mind went over what Derek had told her. Something seemed off. It couldn't have been that easy. "How did you manage to get all the way over here by yourself? I didn't see how badly you were injured, but I'm pretty sure it was bad enough to nearly kill you."

Derek tensed. Kara was a hard person to lie to, with her piercing eyes and expectant gaze demanding the truth from him. Still, his voice was unwavering as he said, "My body had partially healed itself by the time I woke up—just enough so that I could drag myself here." Kara's face remained skeptical, so Derek added, "It wasn't exactly easy. It took a while to get here."

His voice came out a bit more defensive than he had intended, but Kara didn't seem to notice; her attention had shifted to something on the floor near her feet. Derek followed her gaze, and his eyes landed on the dried, brown spots of blood that he had been about to clean off the floor. Kara's eyes flickered to the bucket of soapy water that sat near the blood and Derek internally winced as Kara's face hardened. She looked up at him with accusing eyes. Derek picked up on her heartbeat—it was steadily rising, an indication of the anger forming in her system. He had a pretty good idea of what she angry about—he knew she was smart enough to notice the discolouration of the blood on the floor, how it had been there long enough to dry and turn a faded brown. She would have seen how perfectly fine Derek looked—no hint of injury, even though he had, as she'd said, been injured badly enough to almost kill him. He could see the gears turning in her head, calculating the time that it would have taken him to completely heal. And coming to a realisation.

"Cora went back to the mall in the morning. You must have left before that, because she didn't see you then." Her voice was a mask of lethal calm, a storm brewing beneath. How did Derek ever think he was going to successfully lie to her? But he had to—he wasn't sure why, but the thought of telling her the truth made him feel worse than keeping it from her. So he kept his expression smooth and guilt-free.

"Even if it took you a while to get here, it wouldn't have taken you just under a day to heal—you said you had partially healed before you left the mall," Kara went on, the anger in her voice rising. "You've been fine for a while, haven't you?"

Derek's silence was she needed to hear.

Kara's eyes widened with outrage. "You didn't think to call me as soon as you could pick up a phone? Call Cora?" she demanded. "When were you gonna tell us that you're alive?"

Derek's gut twisted with guilt. He should have let them know, but he had finally had some semblance of peace for a while—no one trying to kill him or plot against him. No one demanding his help. No unbearable responsibility for a few hours. It was something he had craved so badly that he had been willing to let his sister think he was dead, and that thought didn't sit well with him.

Kara shook her head in disbelief and turned on her heel.

"Where are you going?" Derek said, the words slipping out of their own accord.

"I'm going to sleep," Kara snapped. "Cora and I were out all night looking for you."

Derek stared at her retreating form until she disappeared into her room, the door shutting with a snap.

* * *

Kara stared at her reflection in the mirror, her arms hanging limp at her sides. The long, blonde hair that she had once been so proud of was an unruly mess, and in desperate need of a trim. She couldn't remember the last time she had done anything with it other than pull it back into a ponytail, the braids and twists that used to adorn her hair long forgotten. With a resigned sigh, Kara pulled a hairbrush through her knotted tresses. She studied her appearance, frowning at her pale, washed-out skin and the dark shadows underneath her eyes. Even though her hair was neat again, there was still something off, something not quite right about the person that stared back at Kara—and it wasn't the fact that she looked like she hadn't slept in days. Unease curled in her stomach, and then she saw it. Her eyes, once clear and bright, had dulled so much so that they almost seemed hollow, as if the life had been sucked out of them. Startled by the unnerving sight, Kara drew her attention away from the mirror and cast it to her white-knuckled hands gripping the edges of the sink. Pull yourself together, Kara reprimanded herself. She wouldn't be any good to anyone like this—unfocused and shaken.

Scott had called. Not even a minute after Kara had woken up from a few hours of sleep, the teenager had told her about what had happened while he was out of Beacon Hills. His wounds from the fight at the mall took a long time to heal, and Lydia seemed to think that it was because of what happened to Derek. Kara had quickly told him that Derek was alive and well; she wondered if he could hear the annoyance in her voice. Apparently, Scott and the other teenage werewolves who had gone to the cross country meet were somehow poisoned by Wolfsbane, causing them to try to hurt themselves when they stayed overnight at a motel. All of that would have gone down around the time that she was looking for Derek, Kara realised with a dry mouth. Her heart hurt at how resigned Scott sounded as he talked. It was like he was so used it by now that events like that had become normal, a regular threat hanging over their heads.

"Wait, you saved one of the Alpha twins right? Ethan? He'll owe you for that," Kara had said thoughtfully.

Scott had only sighed. "I'm not sure he'll see it that way."

"If you need me to do something, just give me a call. And keep me posted on what's going on, alright?"

"I will." A click, then he was gone.

Kara splashed her face with water, hoping that the cold liquid would wake her up more. And breathe some life back into her face. Scott's call had shaken her more than she'd like to admit, but she wouldn't sit there and do nothing to help. After all, that was her purpose here in Beacon Hills—along with finding out who tried to turn her mother into a werewolf. Although, if her suspicions were right, she wouldn't have to look far. For now, there didn't seem to be much she could do about Deucalion, so Kara decided to focus on something else instead. Something that might finally leave her with more answers than questions.

* * *

Kara was beginning to doubt her inconspicuous-following skills. She had accidentally lost sight of the car she was tailing for the fourth time in an effort to keep herself from being discovered. Kara craned her neck, searching for the dark red vehicle, and sighed in relief. Only three cars ahead of her. Kara frowned as it suddenly turned off the main road, and she hastily followed it, wincing at the beep of a car behind her. So much for being discreet.

Where the hell was Chris Argent going? Kara had managed to familiarise herself with most of Beacon Hills, but she didn't recognise the street that Argent had turned down. Still, she followed him, making sure to keep a good distance away. The distant wail of sirens reached Kara's ears, and the sound steadily became louder as a whirlwind of flashing lights passed her and turned down a street up ahead. She watched as Chris took a sharp turn and followed the ambulance. Frowning, Kara did the same. Was he purposely following the ambulance, or was it just a coincidence? No, he had turned at the last second—maybe he wanted to know where the ambulance was headed. Or if another body had been found.

Kara swallowed uneasily as the scene came into view. Red and blue lights illuminated the cluster of people and cars gathered around a crime scene, but Kara couldn't see what they were looking at. Or who. She'd have to get closer. Kara slowed and pulled up to the curb, watching as Chris Argent parked up ahead and got out of his car, headed straight for the crowd. Kara waited for a moment, then parked her car and got out. She strode up to the gawking crowd and slipped in seamlessly. The sight that greeted her was not a pleasant one. A man, his unmoving chest covered by a stained and bloody shirt, was strewn across the ground. Kara couldn't tear her gaze away from his wide, unblinking eyes that stared at nothing. Blood roared in Kara's ears, drowning out the sound of the people around her murmuring fearfully. He didn't look old—late thirties, maybe early forties. He would have had a family. People who cared about him, who would be devastated by his death.

The back of Kara's neck prickled, snapping her out of her daze. She could feel someone's eyes on her. Kara suddenly remembered that Chris Argent was here too and that she was supposed to be tailing him; watching him, not the body in front of her. There—Kara's eyes found Argent on the other side of the crime scene, standing behind a row of people. He was already looking at her, his face grim. If he was surprised to see her he didn't show it. Did he know that Kara had been following him? She held his stare, his words from the other night ringing in her ears. I hope you know what you're doing.

Argent's eyes shifted to the side, and Kara followed his gaze. It was hard to act normal, to not cower in fear at what she saw. Deucalion stood right behind the yellow police tape with one of the twins, only a couple of metres away from Argent—and right across from Kara. Her blood ran cold as the twin leaned in and whispered something into the ear of his Alpha, who gave a cruel little smile. Deucalion had probably just been alerted of Kara's presence. She inhaled sharply. It was time to go. She glanced at Argent, whose eyes were flickering between Kara and Deucalion, his face set in a deep frown. He looked as though he had noticed the interaction between Kara and the Alpha and was trying to figure out what it meant.

Heart in her throat, Kara slowly, casually, turned away from the crowd and made her way back to her car. She was all too aware of how unprotected she was right now—but surely they wouldn't try anything in a public place like this? Kara didn't want to wait around long enough to find out. She quickened her pace, sure that the werewolves could hear her frantic heartbeat. Kara couldn't help the last few jogging steps to her car, and she sighed in relief as she finally drove away from the crime scene. Away from Deucalion.

What had he been doing there anyway? Had he come to inspect the body, or had he been the one who had killed him? The body hadn't bared any signs of the sacrificial injuries Stiles had told Kara about. No, he had been killed by other means. But did that definitely mean that it wasn't a sacrifice, or had the dark druid simply switched up their methods?

Kara huffed in frustration. Once again, she was left with more questions than answers. She considered calling Scott when she got back to the loft, but decided that it could wait until morning. He already had way too much to deal with. And although Kara would never admit it, she knew she did too.

* * *

Sunlight streamed into the room. It illuminated the white sheets Kara had become tangled in, warming her legs and telling her that it was time to get up. She sighed heavily and sat up. She wasn't quite sure why she had bothered to try to go back to sleep after waking up from the dreams that had plagued her mind. They weren't quite nightmares—just strange, blurry dreams about flashes of golden fire and glowing veins. Kara supposed she was lucky she hadn't had another one of those nightmares where she had unknowingly killed someone. Still, the strange dreams that started up just after the encounter with the Alpha Pack at the mall were enough to unnerve her. Kara inspected her wrists, studying the blue veins underneath her skin. Blue, not gold as they had appeared in her dreams. Kara closed her eyes and conjured up the images she had seen in her sleep. It wasn't quite fire, as she had first thought—it was more like golden smoke, except it had the crackling energy of electricity. It was…alive. And it lived inside of her.

Kara's eyes flew open. She shoved the images away and leapt out of bed, suddenly needing to find something to do. After rummaging through the rumpled clothes in her suitcase—unfortunately, her room didn't have a closet—she pulled on a pair of black jeans and a plaid top. Kara sighed as the top fell halfway to her knees. With a pang, she remembered it had belonged to her mother, who had been significantly taller than her. The fabric was soft and well-worn, but in good condition. Kara must have taken it before her mother got really ill; most of her clothes became ratty and stained after that.

Blinking back the tears that had suddenly welled up in her eyes, Kara tied the top into a knot over her stomach. She knew she could just change into something else and save herself the reminder of her loss, but that wasn't the only thing the top reminded her of—it made her think of home. It reminded her of safety, of warmth, of coming home to a house full of laughter and people who loved her. It was something she missed so badly that sometimes she couldn't breathe, as if she were drowning in her need to take back what had been stolen from her. But then Kara reminded herself of who had stolen it from her, and the tears in her eyes dried.

Kara made her bed methodically; a familiar, mindless task. She wasn't sure what time it was, but the loft was quiet enough to tell her that it was early. A cool breeze swept in from the window and Kara moved closer to it. She gazed outside, taking in the sight of houses and buildings bathed in the early-morning, orange light. Her eyes skimmed over the tops of trees and into the distance, where the Beacon Hills reserve rested. It was a good view. It almost made the trek up all of those stairs worth it. This part of town was so quiet, and Kara basked in the peace that came over her. She leant against the wall, head resting next to the window. In the back of her mind she knew that she should do something productive—maybe go to the library to do some research—but her body didn't want to leave the window.

A knock sounded behind her. Kara turned to find Derek in the doorway to her room, holding two takeaway coffee cups. She allowed herself a second to take in the sight of him—her eyes caught on his dark, slightly messy hair and lean body that rested against the doorframe—before pulling back and raising up the wall she so carefully maintained. Kara couldn't afford to let it slip, like she had when she'd found out that he was alive. She had too much else to worry about.

Kara raised her eyebrows at the hand that held out a coffee cup towards her.

"Thought you might need this. I heard you come in late last night," Derek explained as Kara stepped away from the window and warily took the drink from his hand. Her fingertips brushed his and she had to resist the urge to jerk back. She could feel her face starting to burn and she cursed herself internally, but Derek didn't seem to have noticed anything.

She took a sip of her coffee. Other than it being slightly too sweet, it was how Kara usually had it. "Thanks," she said, wondering why Derek was being less…distant. More open. Maybe the coffee was a peace offering, and he was trying to smooth things over—she was still angry with him for letting everyone think that he was dead for an entire night. With no small amount of surprise, Kara noticed Derek shift slightly under her scrutinizing gaze. Maybe not distancing himself from her took more effort than she realised.

"The police found another body last night," Kara said, setting her drink down on her nightstand. Derek's brow furrowed, and she took that as a sign that he hadn't known. Kara took a deep breath and continued on. "I was there at the crime scene and…so was Deucalion."

"Did he know that you were there?" Derek asked with alarmed eyes. "Did he say anything to you?"

"Yes, and no. He knew I was there—he had one of the twins there, being his eyes for the night." Why did Derek sound so worried? It wasn't as if Kara had been alone with them—she had been surrounded by a lot of people.

Derek nodded tensely. "Was it another sacrifice?"

"I don't think so. It was different to the others—no sign of that three-fold-death thing that Stiles told me about."

Derek raised his eyebrows, his mouth quirking into an amused smile. "Stiles has been talking to you? He looked pretty scared of you when you first rocked up in Beacon Hills."

Kara rolled her eyes. "He's not a bad kid. Annoying, but smart. Which is something that comes in handy when you have dark druids and alpha packs running around."

Silence fell over them. Kara suddenly felt awkward, so she sat down on her bed. Derek lingered in the doorway, seeming reluctant to go. Kara supposed he probably thought she was still angry at him—which she was, but it had been reduced to a minor grudge, like she was reluctant to let go of that anger. Kara sighed inwardly. It was too early in the morning for deep psychological discoveries about her issues.

She snorted suddenly, her mind going back to what Derek had said about Stiles. "You really think that Stiles was scared of me?"

"I was surprised he didn't faint when you made all the werewolves in the room hear that weird frequency."

Kara grinned. Derek chuckled, a small smile managing to make its way onto his face. It was a jarring sight. Kara took another sip of her coffee, suddenly needing something to look at other than Derek.

"I haven't done that in a while. Still up for being my guinea pig?" Kara asked with a smirk, earning a snort from Derek.

"Sure, but you might want someone a little more…easy to practice on."

"You don't think I can take you?"

Derek shrugged casually, and the arrogance in the gesture made Kara bristle. She raised her eyebrows, challenging Derek to say something.

"Not without the full use of your powers," he said finally, the amusement gone. "How long could you hold me down with that frequency trick?"

"I'm not sure," Kara replied reluctantly, knowing that he was right. "I've never tested how long I can keep it going for."

"We need to go to Deaton. He might be able to help."

Kara bit her lip. The first time Derek had mentioned the idea, it had sounded great—a relief, really, to have someone who might know something about her powers. But the more she'd thought about it, the more she dwelled on the strange dreams she'd been having, the less appealing the idea became. What if she tried to use her powers and it got people hurt? It was different with the frequency trick—that was something she knew how to control, like the ability to command it had been ingrained in her bones.

But using other parts of her powers…that was something else entirely. She couldn't stop thinking about the dream she'd had, where someone had ended up dead because of her. She unconsciously wiped her palms on her jeans, remembering the blood that had coated her hands. Somehow, despite everything she'd been through, Kara had managed to keep herself from crumbling, but she knew that having the blood of an innocent on her hands would be what broke her.

"What is it?" Derek said, sensing that something was wrong. His voice pulled Kara out of her own thoughts, and her eyes flickered up to meet his. She found him already looking at her, searching her face. He seemed less guarded, the crease between his brows only slight and the usual, hard set of his eyes had seemed to disappear for the moment. Maybe something had finally gone his way for once.

"It's nothing, I just—" Kara broke off. How was she supposed to explain to him that she was worried about losing control of her powers? Scott had told her that it was different for natural born werewolves like Derek, that it was easier to learn control and that they were taught at a young age. Would he understand the fear of losing control? Maybe not, Kara thought. But he might understand something else. Kara was worried that losing control would make her hurt someone, turn her into something violent and uncontrollable. A monster. Had Derek ever worried about becoming a killer?

Kara was talking before she could stop herself. "I had a dream not long ago that I'd…hurt someone. Because of my powers." I saw their blood drip down my hands, she wanted to say. I heard a woman scream at me, telling me that I was a monster. The words begged to be let free, but Kara couldn't find the right way to say them. They got stuck in her throat, wanting to leave but at the same time petrified of leaving the safety of her own mind. So they stayed buried, locked away in the part of her mind where her most worrying thoughts were kept.

Derek stayed silent, waiting for her to continue. Kara wondered how he knew that there was more.

"I don't know if I'd be able to control my powers if I tried to use them. I'm worried I might…hurt someone."

Something flickered across Derek's face, too fast for her to decipher. "You won't hurt anyone."

"You don't know that," Kara said sharply. "Besides, I already have. I accidentally burned you that time, remember?"

"Only because I grabbed you. Your powers were acting on their own to defend you."

"That's what I'm worried about."

Derek set his coffee down and moved over to Kara's bed. She felt the bed dip, and shuffled over to give him more room, suddenly reminded of what happened the last time they had been seated this close together. Kara stared at her hands, at the long nails that were in need of cutting. When had she forgotten to take care of herself?

"We'll help you learn control. If you practice using your powers enough then you'll be able to control them, to choose when to use them," Derek said, his voice firm. It made sense, Kara knew, but she was still uneasy with the idea of deliberately using her powers in a place where she could hurt someone.

"Aren't you worried that I'll accidentally hurt you? I know you saw me break Peter's hand," Kara asked.

"I'll heal." Derek gave that same arrogant shrug again, but Kara found that she didn't mind it as much this time—even as a small smirk appeared with it. He didn't seem too concerned about her losing control. Kara wondered if that should make her worry or not.

"As soon as I can I'll go talk to Deaton, see what he knows," Kara said. _It doesn't mean that I'll agree to practise with my powers,_ were her silent words.

She glanced over to Derek and was surprised to see hesitancy creep into his face, a dark cloud slowly spreading. Had he changed his mind about what he'd said? Maybe he was starting to think about what could happen if Kara lost control.

Derek winced almost imperceptibly, as if he were trying to force out the words in his head. "There's something you need to see," He said with a heavy voice.

Kara's stomach dropped. Hadn't that been what Derek had said right before he'd shown her the birth certificate taped to the loft door? She raised her eyebrows at him, searching his face for more information.

Derek jerked his head towards the doorway. "I'll show you."

Kara's heart started thumping in her chest. She prayed that it was some minor inconvenience they could manage, but the way Derek had said it…Whatever it was, it didn't sound good. Derek stood up and Kara followed suit, their coffees left forgotten on the nightstand. They were just about to step out of Kara's room when a voice rang out through the loft.

"What the hell is that?"

Kara pushed past Derek and raced out to where Cora's voice had come from. She found her standing near the loft door, staring at something across from her. At first, Kara didn't see it but then she followed Cora's gaze and her eyes landed on the window, its glass marred by a symbol that had been painted on from the outside. Not just any symbol, Kara realised with a horrible jolt. The symbol of the Alpha Pack.

She whirled on Derek, who had come up behind her. "What does it mean?" she demanded, her blood running cold at the expression on Derek's face. It was as grim as Kara had ever seen it.

"It means they're coming. Tonight."


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

"What are we gonna do?"

Kara had waited a while to ask the acrid question. She had given Derek time to think, to control the brief emotion she had seen flicker across his face when he'd shown her the symbol on the window. Kara knew he was worried, even though he hid it well. She could see it in the set of his mouth, the way his eyes subtly scanned the loft door, as if the Alpha Pack would come bursting in at any given moment.

Her question filled the uneasy silence in the loft. Cora had left before Kara could get a chance to ask her where she was going, leaving Kara alone with Derek. Peter was nowhere to be found, unsurprisingly; he had a knack for being absent when danger was present. Not that Kara minded his absence, but if it came down to fighting then they would need all the help they could get. Anxiety twisted Kara's stomach into a knot. She prayed that it wouldn't come to a fight.

"I can take Kali," came Derek's eventual reply, which sounded way too confident for Kara's liking. Either Derek really thought that he could beat Kali in a fight or he was good at hiding the fact that he couldn't. He stood behind a faded wooden table, his back to the symbol marked on the window. Kara couldn't tear her eyes away from it. It felt like death looming over her.

"And if more of them come?" Kara asked with a stable voice—yet her worried eyes betrayed her fear. Derek opened his mouth to reply but was silenced by the loft door sliding open with a groan.

Kara whirled, suddenly worried that it was the Alpha Pack, but then relaxed when she saw Boyd and Isaac striding through the doorway.

"Go back to school," Derek deadpanned.

"Well, actually we can't," Isaac said, pretending to sound resigned. "Boyd and I are incredibly and unbelievably sick."

"With what, brain damage?"

The teens strode down the stairs leading from the door. Kara eyed the duffel bag in Boyd's hands, wondering what was inside it. Boyd met her stare but quickly diverted his eyes, a strange expression on his face. It was almost like embarrassment. What was in that bag?

Isaac seemed to be acting normal, at least. "Well, I have a migraine and Boyd here has explosive diarrhoea."

"We're here to protect you," Boyd explained to Derek. Isaac propped himself up on the wooden table and casually flicked through a book. His head snapped up suddenly and his eyes flitted around the room, his brows pulled together like he was trying to figure something out. His eyes finally landed on Kara, something like disbelief mixed with amusement on his face. Kara felt like asking him what was so funny, but then Derek's voice drew her attention away from the strange teenage boy.

"You're here to protect me? Well, I'm in trouble then."

"Actually, Boyd here came up with a plan," Isaac said. He smirked at Kara while Boyd unzipped the duffel bag he'd brought along. Kara raised her eyebrows at Isaac, who lazily turned his attention back to the book he was holding.

"I thought about the time that Gerard had Erica and I locked up, tied up with electrical wires pushing a current through us. I was wondering how we could do something like that," Boyd said, "but on a bigger scale."

He pulled out a bundle of electrical wires and held them up for inspection. Kara glanced at Derek, who seemed to be considering what Boyd was telling him. What was Boyd getting at? Surely they wouldn't be able to tie Kali and the others up and electrocute them. _Unless,_ Kara thought, _we don't actually have to catch them first._

Boyd pulled something else out of the duffel bag—a hose. Realisation dawned on Kara moments before Boyd started to explain his plan. "In a pool of electrified water it can take up to fifty milliamps to kill a normal human—less than the power it takes to turn on a light bulb."

"That's…comforting," Derek said, throwing a sidelong glance at Kara. She gave a slow, contemplative nod to indicate that she approved of the plan—so far.

"If we disable the circuit interrupter in the building's electrical room, the current will keep coming," Boyd continued. "If we flood the loft and electrify the water, anyone who steps in here will get a pretty shocking surprise."

"Especially someone who's barefoot," Isaac added.

"Will it kill her?" Kara asked, slightly jarred by how easily the words came. Did she want it to kill Kali? She was a murderer, someone who was willing to kill for what she wanted—but did it mean that they could kill her just because she was a threat? Unease curled in Kara's stomach. No—she didn't want Kali to die. But Kara wasn't sure if she'd still think that if it came down to her life or Kali's.

Boyd frowned. "I'm not sure. But it'll at least slow her down."

The words did not ease Kara's unsettled mind.

"We need to take a look at the building's circuit interrupter," Boyd said, and started towards the loft entrance with Derek on his heels. Kara made to follow, but Isaac's voice stopped her.

"You can help me start to flood the loft," he said, something strange in his voice. It almost sounded like amused anticipation, as if he were waiting for something to happen. Or he was waiting to do something.

Isaac started unravelling the hose and Kara twisted the end of it onto the tap in the wall. She could see Isaac smirking and throwing her amused glances as they worked, and she felt her teeth starting to grind together in annoyance. Finally, when her growing irritation boiled over, she snapped, "What's that look on your face for?"

Isaac grinned at her, then made an attempt to smother it into a slightly more subtle smirk. "I just uh, I didn't know you and Derek were a thing," he said casually.

"What makes you say that?" Kara spluttered, nearly choking on the words in her shock. Where the hell had that idea come from?

"I think you sometimes forget that Boyd, Cora and I are werewolves," he said, not bothering to hide his grin now. When Kara gave him a look of utter confusion, he continued on. "We do have a great sense of smell, you know."

"Isaac, I seriously don't know what the hell you're going on about," Kara said impatiently. Her frown deepened as Isaac's shit-eating grin grew even bigger.

"The loft," he said pointedly, as if Kara already knew what he was talking about. "It smells like sex."

The world slowed. "What?" Kara heard herself say, but the voice seemed muffled, as if she were hearing it from behind a door. Something inside her shrunk as Isaac's grin faltered.

"I thought it was…you and Derek."

"No." Kara swallowed. "It wasn't."

Kara felt a dull pang inside her chest. She was aware that there was something waiting for her, some kind of pain that would hit her as soon as realisation sunk in. She wouldn't stay hidden behind the door of ignorance for long. Isaac was frowning now, but a curious gleam had appeared in his eyes. This was exciting to him, scandalous even. Kara felt herself shrink as Isaac spoke. "But if it wasn't you, then who was it?"

"I have no idea." But even as she said the words, a memory niggled at the back of Kara's mind. The morning that Kara had found Derek alive in the loft she had seen him hastily making his bed, but she'd thought nothing of it at the time. Looking back, she realised it was the only night that she hadn't been at the loft.

"Isaac, how fresh is the…scent?"

"Probably at least a day old."

The memory of seeing the car pull out of the building's parking lot surfaced suddenly. She'd thought it was strange to see someone park in there—most of the time the building was practically deserted—but that car had seemed so familiar. She knew she had to have seen it before.

And with a horrible jolt, Kara realised where. At the school, when they'd gone to trap Boyd and Cora.

"The teacher," Kara breathed, more to herself than Isaac. "Her car was here the other morning."

Isaac's eyes nearly popped out of his head, but Kara only barely registered his disbelief. _That_ had been why Derek hadn't called to let them know he was alive—he'd been too busy writhing around in the sheets with that teacher.

Something brittle inside Kara crumbled. Suddenly her body felt heavy, like a giant weight had been placed on her chest, choking the air out of her lungs. Her eyes stung and she turned away from Isaac. _Don't cry,_ she commanded herself. _Not here._ Kara tried to steel herself, to will away the tears in her eyes as she had done so many times before. But this was something new. Different to the kind of pain she had felt when she had lost her mother. She'd had no hope before her mother died, but Kara had been hopeful this time. She hated how weak it made her.

"Kara?" Isaac asked uncertainly. "What's wrong?"

He could probably sense her emotions, Kara realised. It was just what she needed—for everyone to know how she felt. But how did she feel, exactly? Kara didn't even know. She didn't want to know what the pain in her chest meant.

Kara turned back to face Isaac once she was certain that she wouldn't start crying. She was surprised to the see the odd expression on his face; it was a mixture of disbelief and realisation, then it faded to a quiet understanding. The sorrowful look in his eyes filled her with dread.

"You have feelings for him, don't you."

It wasn't a question. Kara wanted to deny it, to throw it back in his face and call him ridiculous for ever thinking that she would feel something for _Derek_ , of all people. But Isaac _knew._ Kara could see it on his face.

"Kara," Isaac started, and the pity in his voice made her bristle.

"If you tell _anyone_ , I'll make you regret it." It was a flat, empty threat. Pity clouded over Isaac's face and Kara turned away, unable to bear the sight of it. She would _not_ feel sorry for herself, and she sure as hell didn't want other people to either.

A loud buzz shattered the silence in the room. Kara hastily answered her phone, not sure whether the person on the other end had good or bad timing.

"Kara? It's Scott. Something happened at school."

Kara shared a wide-eyed look with Isaac, their previous conversation momentarily forgotten.

"It was Deucalion," Scott said hurriedly, not waiting for Kara to speak. "He showed up at school."

"What did he do to you?" Kara demanded.

"It doesn't matter. But Kara, I think Deucalion wants something from you. I don't know what it is, but Kara….you have to be careful. I think he might use you to get what he wants."

Scott's words sent a pang of fear running through her. What did Deucalion want with her? "I'll be careful," Kara assured him, unnerved by his desperate tone.

"There's something else," Scott sighed.

"What is it?"

"It's Deaton. He was taken this morning."

Kara heard the words he didn't say. _Another sacrifice._ Her heart gave a pang of sympathy for Scott—he had been close to Deaton, she knew. Kara realised that she'd lost something too—if Deaton was killed, then who would she go to for answers about her powers? She felt selfish for thinking it, but it was true.

"We'll find him," Kara promised, glancing at Isaac. Kara wouldn't be much help against Kali, or whoever showed up at the loft tonight. But maybe she could help Scott.

"Cora and Stiles are heading to the hospital right now. There's a guy from school who was poisoned with mistletoe, and they're going to see if he knows anything," Scott told her. Kara had no idea what the hell mistletoe was, but it sounded like this kid had something to do with the sacrifices—or had he been a failed sacrifice? _A survivor who might know something_ , Kara mused.

Footsteps sounded from behind her. She could hear Derek's voice echoing in the stairwell, and suddenly her chest felt tight. She didn't want to see him, not while she felt so vulnerable. "Let me know if you find out anything about your boss. I'll try to help," Kara said, before ending the call. She spun around, only to lock eyes with Derek. She felt a spike of anger. No wonder he hadn't told anyone he was alive after the fight at the mall—clearly, the teacher had been deemed more important. Kara was angry at the stranger, even though she hadn't done anything wrong. Kara felt hollow all of a sudden, a bitter tiredness in her bones. She should have known that Derek wouldn't be interested in her, Kara thought. Shock at the bitter belief rattled her. She hated herself for thinking it, for allowing the thought to strike something deep inside her.

Kara glanced at Isaac, who was trying way too hard to look innocent. As if he hadn't just learned something that would make things extremely awkward if it was shared with anyone else. Kara could have whacked Isaac over the head for the suspicious look that Derek was giving them both. Instead, she turned to Boyd, who seemed to have gotten over his strange, earlier behaviour. He must have been able to smell it too, and probably thought that it had been Derek and Kara. She felt her face grow hot with embarrassment.

"Did it work?" Kara asked the teen.

"I hope so."

Kara patted the pocket of her jeans, absentmindedly checking for her car keys. "Scott's boss went missing this morning. I'm gonna go help Cora and Stiles, I think they're trying to find something that will help," Kara said, careful to avoid Derek's gaze. "Unless you want me to help out here."

She was hesitant to leave them, but at the same time she was desperate to be alone.

"Go. We'll be okay here," Derek said, his voice firm but reassuring.

Isaac nodded in agreement. "He's right. Besides, if Deucalion shows up when you're here he might try to do something."

Kara winced imperceptibly as Derek's eyes widened in alarm. She wished Isaac hadn't mentioned Deucalion; Derek had enough to worry about as it was. He didn't need to be distracted by the possibility of Deucalion trying to use Kara.

"Why would Deucalion try to do something to you?" Derek asked. She glanced at his eyes—big mistake. They were intense with concern, a sight that almost made her strength crumble. Her cruel mind had imagined for a moment that he was worried about her—that he cared enough to be scared of her getting hurt. The hollow feeling worsened.

Kara steeled herself. "Scott said that Deucalion wanted something from me. He didn't know what exactly, but…it's nothing good."

Derek raised his eyebrows in a way that told her he was not happy that she hadn't thought to tell him about it sooner. Kara clenched her jaw. How did he expect her to tell him everything when he had lied to her? She inched towards the door, the need to escape suddenly burning white-hot in her throat.

"Just…be careful," Derek said, his eyes lingering on her for a moment turning to Boyd and Isaac. Kara felt a flicker of surprise at his gentle tone but didn't hesitate to leave as soon as his eyes left her.

Kara's eyes were burning, but she suppressed the dampness in them until she had reached the bottom of the stairs and left the building. _Derek had lied to her._ Those words spun around in her mind and buried themselves underneath her skin, the memory of them constant and unyielding. If she thought about it hard enough, she could almost pretend that Derek lying to her was the only thing that hurt.

Relief flooded through her at the sight of her car. Her breaths had turned erratic by the time she got in, and it wasn't long before tears blurred her vision. She hated herself for crying. For caring about someone so closed off and hardened—for feeling like she'd been betrayed. She had no right to feel betrayed, because the feeling had not come from being lied to. It had come from something else, something that Kara desperately wanted to bury.

Kara's head fell back onto the headrest with a dull thud. She was tired, always so tired. If it wasn't a nightmare disturbing her sleep, then it was a strange dream—or thoughts that kept her awake half the night, chasing sleep away. Was that the reason she had become so emotionally unstable? She felt like she was constantly walking on the edge of a cliff, desperate not to lose her balance and stumble off the edge. Because going off the edge meant losing control, and that wasn't an option.

An ache welled up in her chest. It was as though there was an empty cavity swelling up inside her, slowly engulfing her body. It was an awful emptiness. It was the hollowness of losing hope, of having the sharp sting of loneliness dull into a blunt knife. Kara hugged herself tightly, as if she could stop the spreading of the emptiness in her chest. Her mind flashed to memories of her mother holding her like that, and of Kara burying her face in her mother's stomach like it was the safest place to be—and to her, it had been.

Kara pressed a hand to her mouth to stifle the sobs that were now leaking out. Some irrational part of her thought that if she held on tight enough then maybe she could keep herself together, but there were too many cracks in her armour to block. Would she be like this for the rest of her life, always scrambling to tape up the holes that appeared in her walls? Would she always live in fear of revealing too much of herself? Of not being in control? Kara didn't know. And that uncertainty terrified her.

* * *

Cora stood outside of the hospital entrance, her long dark hair whipping around in the wind. She made no move to touch it and remained standing still with her arms folded. Even from her position in the parking lot, Kara could see that the teen's body was tense. Kara hesitated by her car for a moment, wondering if Cora would notice her red-rimmed eyes. Kara blew out a breath of frustration and started towards the teenager. She didn't have time to care about whether or not people noticed that she'd been crying.

Cora turned around long before Kara reached her. Her eyes narrowed, taking in Kara's drained appearance with confusion.

"What happened?" Cora demanded, as soon as she was within earshot.

"Nothing," Kara said quickly. Cora raised her eyebrows to show that she wasn't convinced, so Kara told her what Scott said about Deucalion. Kara was glad to distract herself from the situation with Derek, but soon realised that she just put a much more pressing one to the forefront of her mind.

"So you don't know what he wants from you?" Cora questioned.

"He didn't say anything to Scott today, but he said something to me the first time I saw him—when he showed up at the loft. He said…he mentioned something about my powers. I think that whatever he wants, he plans to use my powers to get it. I don't think he cares if I know. I think…he expects it to be easy."

Cora's face tightened. She opened her mouth to say something but paused as Kara's eyes slid to something behind her. Stiles had come running out of the hospital entrance and was now making his way down the steps, tightly gripping a wad of paper. He wasn't grinning, exactly, but there was an excited tilt to his mouth and a hastiness in his stride. Stiles had found something.

"What is that?" Cora asked as soon as Stiles reached them, jerking her head at the papers he held. He was panting slightly and took a moment to answer her. His eyes glanced to Kara and she caught his look of surprise. Maybe he expected her to be at the loft, helping Derek.

"Danny was writing a report on telluric currents," Stiles said as he pulled out his phone—to call or text someone, Kara guessed. "It might be able to help us find Deaton."

Kara frowned and shared a look of confusion with Cora, but Stiles was already on the phone.

"Scott? It's me. I think I found something."

* * *

"What does this kid's homework have to do with finding Deaton?" Kara asked, glancing at the teens surrounding her. Cora, Stiles and Kara had met Scott and Lydia at the animal clinic after going to the hospital—and to Kara's annoyance, Stiles hadn't explained how what he had found was of any help to them on the way there. Night had fallen already, and a feeling of urgency had risen in Kara. She knew they were running out of time.

Stiles gestured to the map laid out in front of them. "Because it's not just homework. It's a project on geomagnetic fields—they flow through the earth and can even be affected by lunar phases. Now look at this note from Harris about Danny's project."

Lydia leaned forward to read from the paper. "I strongly advise you to choose another subject. The ideas here, while innovative and thoughtful, border on pseudoscience—not suitable for class."

Kara frowned as she searched through her memories for information on the teacher. Something about his note seemed too dismissive, like he didn't want that kid to look into telluric currents because it would cause too many problems. "Harris was a sacrifice, wasn't he? It sounds like he knew something," Kara remarked. Scott's expression seemed to mirror her feelings; his eyes had widened slightly with understanding.

"Now check this out. Allison's father wasn't the only one with a map; Danny had one too," Stiles explained, unfolding a crumpled map onto the steel table they were gathered around. "He marked all of the telluric currents on here. Now the weird thing about Beacon Hills is that it actually is a Beacon—you wouldn't believe how much energy thrumming through the earth is around this town."

Kara noticed that Scott had started to rearrange the pieces of Argent's map as Stiles talked. "Stiles look—they match. There are three places, right? Where they're kidnapped—" Scott drew a circle around the animal clinic on the map, "—and then the place where their body is found," he said, drawing another circle on the map.

"That's right on a telluric current," Kara said.

"So maybe where he was sacrificed…is somewhere in between."

Stiles grabbed the pen and ghosted over the map, searching for something they'd missed, some sort of clue.

"Stop," Cora said suddenly. She guided Stiles' hand over to a place on the map with a grim expression. "He's in the vault. He's in that same vault."

Kara's heart missed a beat. "Then we need to go now—we're running out of time."

She started piling the papers together with the help of the others and was about to leave when Cora's voice rang out. "Wait," she said, holding her phone in her hand. Dread filled Kara at the expression on her face, and deep down she knew what had happened before Cora spoke.

"It's Boyd. The plan didn't work. They cut the power."

* * *

Kara hated the drive to the loft. She hated to just sit and wait while she knew that people she cared about were in danger. She was anxious enough to nearly miss what the thought implied—but it was true. She'd come to care about Isaac and even Boyd, despite not wanting to become attached to anyone in Beacon Hills. She'd done a pretty crap job of it—the proof lay in the worry that squeezed her heart at the thought of Isaac and Boyd being hurt. _Of Derek being hurt,_ a small voice reminded her. Kara turned away from it, blocking it out. She had to stay focused.

She wondered if Scott had reached the bank yet. Kara wished that he didn't have to save Deaton by himself, but it was faster for the rest of them to go to the loft. _We can save them both,_ came the memory of Scott's words. Kara desperately wanted to believe that it was true.

"We're nearly there," Stiles said, sensing the growing tension in the jeep. He needn't have said anything—Kara recognised the streets they drove through, and she supposed that Cora did too. She glanced over at the teen, who was as still as marble. She felt a pang of sympathy for her—Cora had only just gotten her brother back, and now she faced losing him again. The distant memory of a similar pain, dulled from being buried for a while, suddenly surfaced. Kara's older brother had been away most of the time because of his work in the army, and every time she got to see him was a bittersweet moment. She knew he would only be ripped away from her again, and she never knew if he would return or not.

Then one day, he hadn't.

Disgust curled in Kara's stomach. Why was she thinking of her brother at a time like this? She knew she shouldn't miss him. She _didn't_ miss him. He was as good as dead to her.

They had reached Derek's building. Kara was the first to jump out of the car, and she felt her growing panic with each step as they raced up the stairs to the electrical room. They spilled into the room and Kara stared at the multitude of buttons and leavers that greeted them. She wished that she'd gone with Boyd and Derek to check it out earlier in the day so that she knew what to do.

"Ok what do we do?" Stiles panted.

"Pull them," Cora instructed. "Pull all of them."

They launched themselves at the wall and pulled every lever in sight. A moment later, the lights in the room flickered on—which meant that the water in the loft had been electrified too.

"Let's go," Kara said before tearing out of the room, not even stopping to think about the danger she would be putting herself in if they walked into the loft while the alpha pack was still there—the danger they would all be in.

Cora led them as they took the flights of stairs up to the loft. Kara's heart was in her throat. Something bad had happened; she could _feel_ it. It was that same heavy dread in her stomach she had felt as she'd raced home from work on the night that her mother had died. Kara almost tripped, but she hardly noticed it. All she could think about was getting to the loft. Getting to Derek.

Stiles was the first one to reach the loft. Kara saw his body go slack with shock, and suddenly her legs went numb, like they had detached themselves from her body. They carried her into the doorway, where she saw everything.

A body in the water. A figure hunched over, shaking hands outstretched, as if to reach for it.

Cora ran into the loft, sending water flying in every direction. The sound punctured through Kara's momentary haze, and she sucked in a sharp breath. She saw them then, not as figures but as people—Boyd and Derek.

Kara took shaky steps towards them, not registering the cold water that seeped into her boots and jeans. That was Boyd— _Boyd,_ lying there in the water, wide-eyed and unblinking, with Cora hunched over his chest. Her horrible, piercing sobs reached Kara's ears, and it was all she could hear, as if the sound had been magnified. She saw Derek then—his bloodied, trembling hands, the water dripping from his hair. She saw his face, the features that had been warped and twisted by pain so consuming that he looked like a different person. Kara reached out a shaking hand of her own. She placed it on Derek's shoulder, squeezing hard enough to let him know that she was there—even though she knew he wouldn't register it. It was what grief did; it numbed and warped you from the inside out, until everything became unfamiliar. Unrecognisable.

Kara stared at Boyd's body, her tears mixing with the water she stood in. She dropped to her knees and placed her other hand on Derek's arm, gripping tightly. She didn't know whether it was for her sake or his, but she held on anyway. Derek's body shook underneath her grip. She almost let go, but then was struck by the memory of finding her mother—alone, without anyone to tether her to reality.

So Kara leant into Derek's side, letting the water soak her jeans. Soon she was trembling too—for Boyd, for Cora and Derek and Isaac, for what the supernatural world had cost them. And for fear of what it would continue to cost them.

What it would cost everyone.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

Kara hit the ground hard. The impact reverberated through her body and she groaned before scrambling to her feet, her side throbbing. No sooner had she stood up than a leg swung towards her, narrowly missing her midsection. Kara raised her hands up to protect her face. _Think, Kara_ , she commanded herself. Her heart was pounding now, speeding up with each advance her attacker made. What had Derek taught her? She couldn't remember—it was hard to think when all her mind could focus on was surviving each second, each attack. But Kara's blocks were getting sloppy and she wasn't making any advances of her own. She wouldn't last much longer.

Her opponent could sense Kara's growing exhaustion. Arrogance laced the girl's every move. She struck out, and Kara lurched to the side so that the blow glanced off her shoulder instead of her chest. Kara stumbled back, gasping at the ache in her shoulder. The girl advanced, not bothering to keep her arms up to defend herself, and threw another blow. There—the girl had left her right side exposed. Kara saw the mistake and managed a jab to her opponent's ribs. The girl stumbled back with an angry snarl but quickly recovered. It didn't matter—all Kara had needed was a couple of seconds to gain the upper hand. Adrenaline flooded her body as her attacks forced the girl back. Kara's mind cleared, focusing on the only thing that mattered; survival.

Kara control over the fight didn't last long. The girl was too fast—she caught one of Kara's swinging legs and pushed back. Kara lost her balance and fell onto her back, the air rushing out of her lungs in an instant.

The girl dropped to her knees beside Kara, whose breath was coming in shallow, wheezing gasps. "Kara?" the girl asked with worried eyes.

Kara tried to say the girl's name, to let her know that she was fine, that she was just winded—but she couldn't form words. Her chest had seized up, and she felt like she couldn't breathe. "Cora," she managed to say, once her body started relaxing. She slowly sat up with a wince. "It's fine, I just got winded."

Cora didn't look entirely convinced. Something flickered in her eyes—guilt, Kara noted with surprise. Then again, she could guess why. Cora was a werewolf sparring with a human—or, at least someone who didn't have the same supernatural abilities—so she needed to hold back. Maybe Cora thought that she had gone too far. Kara needed the pain as a reminder, though. When she fought werewolves who weren't her friends, they wouldn't hold back. She needed to be prepared for a life or death situation.

"We're taking a break," Cora said, before standing up. She held out a hand to Kara, who accepted it gratefully and got to her feet. Body aching, Kara took a swig of water from her drink bottle. She might not have admitted it, but she did need a break. As soon as the adrenaline had left her body, exhaustion had hit her like a train. Cora wasn't exactly invincible either; Kara had noted with a small amount of triumph that the teen was panting heavily as she wiped sweat from her brow.

"I almost had you," Kara remarked with a grin. Cora scoffed.

"Yeah, before you tried to kick me and I grabbed your leg. Maybe next time learn how to do a move before you embarrass yourself with it."

"Ha! Says the person who almost lost because they got too cocky."

Cora rolled her eyes with a reluctant smile. "I'll try not to underestimate you next time if you let me teach you how to kick properly."

"Deal."

Both girls jumped as the loft's alarm system went off. Cora hastily went to shut it off and Kara's gaze snapped to the loft door, which was slowly opening with a groan. Her heart nervously thumped against her ribcage, but her worry was for nothing. Stiles appeared in the doorway, his hands up in defence. "It's just me."

Kara relaxed, albeit with some annoyance. "A call would have been nice."

"What were you guys doing?" Stiles asked, jerking his head at their workout gear.

"Sparring." Kara turned her back to him to grab her jacket and Stiles winced.

"You guys should really invest in some mats or something," he commented, eyeing the patchwork of bruises covering Kara's back.

"What do you want?" Cora asked impatiently. The corner of Kara's mouth quirked into an amused smile. Derek's sister was not one for small talk.

Stiles, apparently, had gotten used to her frankness and was unfazed. "Have you heard from Derek?"

Cora tensed. Kara glanced at her casually, hiding her concern. Cora had been a mess after Boyd had died and Derek had disappeared, but in true Hale fashion, she had not let herself stay like that for long. Kara knew she shouldn't worry; Cora was strong. Still, grief was not meant to forced down so easily. It never stayed down for long.

"I haven't heard from him," Cora said shortly, turning to face the window. It had started raining sometime during their sparring session, and now water trickled down the glass panes. Cora stared at it, her focus not really on the rain but beyond it, as if looking into a distant memory. Her voice took on a gentler tone as she spoke, but Kara soon realised that it was distance, not gentleness, that softened her voice.

"Once, Derek and Peter almost got caught by hunters. It was a long time ago, before the fire. They were in the woods for two days; waiting, hiding. That's what we're taught to do if the hunters find us. Hide, and heal."

"Okay so is two days standard then or are we thinking that Derek's on some sort of extended getaway?" Stiles asked. His words sent a pang through Kara's chest. She'd tried not to think about Derek's absence for the past couple of days, but he kept creeping back into her thoughts. Training with Cora helped, but they couldn't do it all day. It was in quiet moments that Derek's absence hurt her most.

Cora turned around to glare at him. "Why do you care?"

"Oh let's see, 'cause over the last few weeks my best friend tried to kill himself, his boss nearly got ritually sacrificed, a girl that I've known since I was three _was_ ritually sacrificed, Boyd was killed by Alphas—you want me to keep going? Because I can. For like, an _hour_ ," Stiles said, his voice strained with exasperation.

"You think Derek can do anything about that?" Cora asked.

"Well since he's the one everyone seems to be after its more like he should do something about it."

"I don't know," Cora said, brow furrowed in thought. "There's something different about him now. He wasn't like this when I knew him."

"What was he like?" Kara asked. It was hard to picture Derek being anything other than stoic and guarded, but he couldn't have always been like that.

"He was a lot like Scott, actually," came a voice. Kara suppressed the urge to roll her eyes as Peter strode down the spiral staircase, seemingly unaware that he was unwanted. As usual.

"A lot like most teenagers," he continued on in his patronizing, grating voice. "Unbearably romantic, profoundly narcissistic, tolerable really only to other teenagers."

Very different to the Derek they knew, Kara thought. "So what changed him?"

"The same thing that changes a lot of young men. A girl," Peter replied, his eyes boring into Kara's. She felt a wave of revulsion towards him. She wanted nothing more than to walk out of the loft—or better yet, throw Peter out of the loft—but a larger part of her wanted to know the story behind Derek's calloused front. A miserable feeling settled at the bottom of her stomach as she realised that it was because he would never tell her himself.

"You're telling me some girl broke his little heart? That's why Derek is the way he is?" Stiles asked incredulously. Kara scowled at his insensitivity.

Peter turned to Cora. "Do you remember Derek before he was an Alpha, he had blue eyes?"

"When did Derek become an Alpha?" Kara interrupted.

"About six months ago, after he slashed my throat, ear to ear."

Stiles bristled. "Yeah, after you tried to kill everyone!"

"Besides the point," Peter waved a hand. "Do you know why some wolves have blue eyes?"

"I just always thought it was a genetic thing," Stiles said, his expression sour.

"If you want to know what changed Derek, you need to know what changed the colour of his eyes."

* * *

As Peter told the story of Derek and Paige, Kara wondered why she was even listening. She wasn't keen on hearing about Derek's previous love life, even if it was just a high school relationship. Hearing about Derek and Jennifer Blake, the teacher, had been hard enough. _You have feelings for him, don't you?_ Isaac's words echoed in her head, a constant, brutal reminder of her foolishness. She shoved it into the back of her mind.

"So what happened to Derek and the Cello girl?" Stiles asked.

"What do you think happened? They're teenagers. One minute it's 'I hate you, don't talk to me' the next it's frantic groping in any dark corner they could manage to find themselves alone in for five minutes," Peter replied. He launched into the story, telling them of how they used to sneak into an abandoned distillery, which once held a meeting between three powerful packs—those that were led by Kali, Ennis and Deucalion. One of Ennis' pack members had been killed by hunters—the Argents, Kara noted with surprise—and Ennis wanted revenge.

Peter drew a spiral into the condensation in the window. "Our mark for vendetta," he explained.

"Man, you guys really take that revenge thing to like a whole new level," Stiles said, frowning.

"It's not just revenge," Cora cut in sharply. "Losing a member of your pack isn't like losing family. It's like you lose a limb."

Kara mind went, yet again, to Boyd. She couldn't shake the image of him, of his body in the water, eyes staring vacantly up at the ceiling. He had only been seventeen. And the effect his death had on Derek—she would never be able to un-see Derek's shaking hands or stricken face. Boyd had been his responsibility. His beta.

"I don't get it," Cora spoke up. "What does this have to do with Derek?"

Peter turned to face her. "Everything. Personally, I looked at Ennis' circumstance and I saw profound loss. Derek…saw something different. An opportunity."

"Opportunity to do what?" Stiles frowned.

"To always be with her."

Peter continued the story, telling them about how Derek worried that Paige would find out about him being a werewolf. He apparently obsessed about it so much that he came up with a plan to turn her into a werewolf so that she would never run from him. He got Ennis to do it, Peter told them. Ennis needed a new pack member, and Paige was young and strong. Derek changed his mind and tried to stop Ennis, but it was too late. Paige had been bitten. Something went wrong, though. Her body rejected the bite.

A sick feeling crawled through Kara's stomach. "Why didn't she turn?"

"She should have turned. Most of the time the bite takes," Peter sighed. "But it didn't matter that she was young and strong. Some people just aren't made for this. She fought. She struggled desperately, trying to survive."

Kara paled. She knew how this ended. She knew because she had seen it before. Except when her mother had struggled, it had not been for a few hours—it had been for twelve years. Kara didn't want to hear the rest of the story, but her body would not move. She remained frozen in her position on the couch.

Peter continued on. "Eventually the pain was too much. Paige begged Derek to make it stop and Derek…he couldn't let her suffer anymore."

He didn't need to say the words. They all knew. Tears welled in Kara's eyes. Her mother had died by her own hand, but Derek had been the one to kill Paige. Realisation dawned on Kara, it's weight heavy and unrelenting. No wonder Derek was guarded—he was probably being eaten alive by guilt. It didn't matter that it was a mercy-kill, just like it didn't matter that Kara hadn't been the direct cause of her mother's death. They both blamed themselves for not doing more. For not being enough.

"I remember taking her body from his arms," Peter said with glazed eyes. "To the woods to a place where I knew that it would be found. Another in a long line of Beacon Hills' animal attacks."

"What about Derek?" Cora asked, tears shining in her eyes.

"Taking an innocent life takes something from you as well. A bit of your soul. Darkening it. Dimming the once brilliant, golden yellow to a cold, steel blue. Like mine." Peter's eyes flickered up, and Kara saw that they had turned blue. The sight stirred a memory in her mind, one of her mother. Kara tried not to think about how she looked on full moons, but this time the image forced its way through—a wail of agony twisting her mother's beautiful face, body thrashing against the chains that held her down. And her eyes—a bright, shocking blue.

It was suddenly hard to breathe. Derek's eyes had turned blue after he'd taken an innocent life, which meant…

Ella Grayson had killed someone.

* * *

Cora, Stiles and Kara sat on the steps in front of the loft door, minds processing what Peter had told them. Cora glanced at Stiles, who was frowning.

"What's this look on your face?" she asked.

"What look?"

"The kind of look that makes me want to punch you."

"Oh my god you are so Derek's sister, I forgot," Stiles said.

"What's wrong?" Kara asked. She could tell there was something going on in his mind, something that didn't add up.

Stiles shook his head. "I just don't believe him. Peter is…he's like an unreliable narrator. You know that the details of the story have changed just because of his perspective."

"You don't think we got the whole story," Kara realised.

"So what, are you just gonna ask Derek about the girl he fell in love with and then killed?" Cora raised her eyebrows at Stiles, who sighed.

"If I have to, yeah."

The rest of their conversation became background noise as Kara zoned out. She became absorbed by her thoughts, their restless worry pulling her out of reality. How could her mother have killed someone? Kara had been with her for every single full moon since the bite had started affecting her. She'd chained her mother up and stayed with her throughout the night. But when _did_ she start doing that? Kara searched her memories for possibilities as to when her mother could have possibly left the house on a full moon. It was the only time that she would have been driven to kill someone—apart from the couple of days leading up to each full moon, Ella was merely weakened by the bite. It had only started affecting her four years after the incident in the woods, and at first, Kara had no idea what was happening. She didn't remember much from then, only that her mother seemed to constantly be complaining of migraines. One night she had disappeared—but then returned in the morning, acting normal. A chill ran down Kara's spine. What if that night had been a full moon? What if it had been the _first_ full moon that Ella had been affected by the bite?

Visions of a body sprawled out on the pavement, torn and bloodied, filled Kara's head. It made sense for it to happen then—that was the only time Kara could remember her mother ever disappearing. A sense of betrayal flooded through Kara. How could her mother have returned the next morning and not been a mess after murdering someone? She had acted completely normal, as if nothing had happened. As if she hadn't killed an innocent person, who had a life, a family—people who would be utterly destroyed by this person's death. Kara's hands itched to grab her laptop and start searching for murders reported in her town dating back eight years ago, but now was not the time. She had other things to worry about. With an immense amount of effort, Kara returned her focus to Cora and Stiles.

"Do you have any idea where Derek might be?" Stiles pressed. Cora shook her head.

Kara frowned in thought. Wherever Derek was, it couldn't be too far away from here—he probably just wanted to be alone, not out of reach if there was an emergency. Somewhere familiar, maybe. A place he knew well.

"Cora," Kara said, catching the girl's attention. "Where did you say that Derek and Peter hid from the hunters?"

"I think it was that abandoned distillery just outside of Beacon Hills. Why?" Cora asked, but as soon as the words left her mouth her face went slack with realisation. "You think he's there now."

"Maybe," Kara admitted. It was a long shot. They had no way of knowing where he was. He had left his phone in the loft, and they had no other way to contact him.

"So are we gonna go find him or what?" Stiles asked pointedly.

"His beta just died, Stiles," Kara said, her voice sharper than she meant it to be. She shot a worried glance at Cora, but the girl hadn't flinched at Kara's words.

"Look I know he needs time, but…without his help, we might not be able to stop the Alpha pack. Or the sacrifices," Stiles sighed. Kara chewed her lip, considering Stiles' words. He was right, of course. The insufferable teen was pretty much always right. How many more Boyd's would there be if they didn't have Derek's help? Kara knew he couldn't fix everything, but they needed all the help they could get.

"Cora?" Kara said, silently asking her if they should try to find Derek. She was his sister, after all. She knew him best.

"Okay," Cora sighed after a moment, sounding resigned. "But only one of us should go, in case he is actually at the distillery."

"You should go. You're closest to him," Kara suggested. Something flickered over Cora's face, and for a moment she looked uneasy. But then it was gone, and she was ushering Stiles out of the loft. She waited a moment in the doorway before turning back to Kara, that same uneasy expression on her face.

"What is it?" Kara asked. Had she changed her mind about looking for Derek?

"I think it should be you," Cora said quietly.

"Why? You're his sister."

Cora bit her lip, looking the most conflicted that Kara had ever seen her. "I just…I keep seeing Boyd lying in the water with his blood on Derek's claws, over and over again. I know it wasn't Derek's fault," she said quickly, "but…I can't face him. Not yet."

Kara felt a pang of sadness for Cora. She opened her mouth to tell Cora that it was okay to still be affected by what happened but caught herself. Kara didn't think that Cora would appreciate it much. Not now, at least. Sometimes it was enough just to listen.

So Kara simply nodded and said, 'I'll go."

* * *

The Beacon Hills Preserve was nothing short of eerie at night. Kara shivered as she stepped over tree roots and fallen branches, trying to resist the urge to glance over her shoulder. She wasn't fond of the woods. Being there brought up memories she'd rather forget. Her car wasn't far away; she'd had to drive to get there. Technically the distillery was outside of Beacon Hills, but it was also at the edge of the Preserve. Which meant that Kara had to cut through the woods to reach it.

She tightened her grip on the takeaway food she'd brought. She planned to give it to Derek at the distillery—assuming that he was there, of course. But what would she say to him once she got there? Sorry you were forced to kill your beta? A frustrated sigh slipped through her lips. Maybe she shouldn't have come.

A building loomed up ahead—the abandoned distillery. Kara increased her pace, almost tripping over a tree root in her haste. Her stomach was doing somersaults, twisting in on itself with anxiety. She stopped a few metres away from the building, eyeing it uncertainly. It was completely dark. No lights shone from the many windows lining the walls, which were made of a flimsy tin, but even in the darkness Kara could see that it was extremely rusty. It looked mere seconds away from collapsing.

Kara jumped as an owl hooted nearby. She huffed in irritation at her racing heart and started towards the distillery, hoping that she hadn't come all this way for nothing.

The doors had been left slightly ajar, a gap just big enough for Kara to slip through.

"Derek?" she called out, keeping her voice soft. If he was there, he probably would have heard her coming anyway. Still—Kara called out his name again as she stepped fully into the dark, dingy building, guessing that he wouldn't want any surprises. Apart from the scrape of Kara's boots on the grimy floor, it was silent inside. Shards of moonlight splintered through the windows high above; the only source of light in the abandoned distillery.

"Kara?"

She whirled around. Her heart gave a relieved thud when she saw Derek standing in front of her. She hadn't recognised his voice; it was hoarse, as if it hadn't been used in days. Kara scanned his face as he moved closer, his jaw slack with surprise. Something lodged itself in Kara's throat at the expression of grief on Derek's face, and suddenly it was a little hard to breathe.

"How did you find me?" he asked, his voice quieter than usual.

"Cora thought you might be here," Kara replied. Not wanting him to ask how Cora had gotten the idea, she held out the bag of food. "I thought you might be hungry."

Derek accepted it after a moment of hesitation, as if he was surprised that she'd brought him food. He turned away from her, casting his eyes to the wall in front of them. With a jolt, Kara realised that a massive spiral had been carved into the metal. _A werewolf's mark for vendetta._ How had she missed it walking in?

Silence filled the air. Boyd's death hung in between them, forming an invisible barrier. Kara could see through to the other side, but…she didn't know how to _get_ there. How to reach him.

Kara closed her eyes for a brief moment. "I know it won't help if I tell you that it wasn't your fault, but Cora doesn't blame you. Neither do I."

Derek knew what she was talking about. He shook his head, eyes downcast. "You should," he said, voice bitter. "You have a lot to hate me for—Boyd, locking you in the loft, not telling you I was alive…"

"You're right," Kara said, and Derek's head snapped up, eyes wide with surprise. "I do have a lot to hate you for—but not Boyd's death. Never his death. And I still don't hate you for that other stuff. Would I have trekked through the woods at this ungodly hour to bring you food if I did?"

Kara's heart thudded as the corner of Derek's mouth rose into a brief half-smile. If he somehow guessed the meaning behind her words…Stupid. She shouldn't have said that.

"Has anything happened while I've been here?" Derek asked. Kara shook her head, and Derek's shoulders fell with relief. Kara noticed that he was still wearing the same clothes that he had worn when she saw him last.

"I'm sorry for…hiding out here," Derek said suddenly, breaking the silence that had settled over them again.

"Don't be," Kara said a little sharply. She hated seeing him like this. Hated seeing guilt and shame flash across his face, as if it were wrong of him to take the time to grieve.

"It didn't take me three weeks to drive to Beacon Hills," Kara blurted out before she even realised what she was saying. All she knew was that she was revealing something that had been buried deep within her—something she had intended to keep hidden. Until now.

"I stayed at a motel for two weeks after my mother died. I worked as a housekeeper there to pay for it. I barely moved unless I had a shift, and I slept most of the time. I couldn't bring myself to eat much either. But then," Kara sighed, "I got a phone call, and it reminded me of who I was. So I ended up here."

It wasn't a memory that Kara liked to relive. It was one of the darkest times in her life—and she'd just unearthed it, exposing it for Derek to see. To judge. Kara waited for the blow to come, for him to turn her away, but he remained silent. He seemed lost for words.

"I don't know what state I would have been in if I had come straight to Beacon Hills, so even though those were the worst two weeks of my life I'm glad I stayed at the motel," she said.

"Kara—"

"Look, all I'm saying is…come back when you're ready."

She gave Derek a small smile before ducking out of the distillery and trudging back towards her car, the image of his grief-filled eyes branded on her mind.

Thankfully, the drive back to the loft passed quickly. Kara's body ached from training with Cora and she couldn't wait to shower and go to bed. The rain started up again just as Kara stepped out of her car, so she hurriedly locked her car and pulled her jacket tighter around herself. The street around her was empty, the rain driving people to stay inside. She glanced at her phone, checking the time. God, was it really that late? She could have sworn—

Hands gripped her shoulders. A body pressed itself into her back and flung an arm across her chest, preventing her from escaping. Panic seized Kara like a wildfire, and she thrashed violently. Her phone clattered to the ground and skidded on the concrete as her attacker dragged her backwards. A scream bubbled up in Kara's throat, but before she could release it something was clamped over her mouth. A sweet scent hit her nose, making her head spin. Kara held her breath as she continued to struggle, but had to take a breath when her head felt like it was about to burst. The world quieted and her vision turned fuzzy. Everything began to dim, and Kara slipped into nothingness.

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **Hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Sorry there was a massive gap between this chapter and the last, I'll try to update more regularly in the future. Who do you think has attacked Kara?**

 **As always, reviews and comments are welcome :)**


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

It was the pain that woke her.

Her head, splitting open. Nails being driven into her skull. A constant, endless throbbing. Kara whimpered but didn't dare move. It was painful enough to simply be awake.

It took her a few dazed minutes to process that there was a concrete floor underneath her body and she was curled up in a ball. Memories flooded back into her mind, of hands grabbing her from behind and pressing a cloth to her mouth. Cold seeped into her limbs, and a musty, dank smell reached her nose, the scent somehow….familiar.

Kara's eyes flew open. She scanned her surroundings with blurred vision—she was in a dark, small room, its walls bare. A layer of dust and scattered papers covered the floor. Dread buried itself in Kara's stomach. She'd been here before, when they had gone to rescue Boyd and Erica.

Someone had taken her to the bank vault.

But of course, it wasn't just _someone._ Kara knew that the alpha pack had made the abandoned bank their little hideout, but what did they want with _her_?

A familiar panic trickled into her veins. _Stay calm,_ she commanded herself. _Look around, find a way out._ She wasn't chained or tied down. In fact, Kara realised warily, she hadn't been restrained at all. And there, right in front of her face, was the vault door. Open.

Unease curled in Kara's stomach. It was too easy. But she had to get out of here, or she'd soon find out why the alpha pack had kidnapped her. Something told Kara it would not be pleasant. She gingerly rose to her feet, gritting her teeth against the pounding in her head, and scanned what laid beyond the vault. It was hard to see in the dark, but Kara made out the railings and grimy floors of what she assumed to be a hall. She listened to the eerie quiet, making sure that no one was outside. _Too easy,_ her mind protested as she took a tentative step forward. _Too easy,_ screamed the throbbing of her head and the pressing silence. Kara pushed the fear away. What if this was her only chance to escape?

Glancing briefly at a strange line of dirt on the floor, Kara moved forward. She let out a small gasp of surprise as her face smacked into something solid and slapped a hand over her mouth, terrified that the sound would give her away. What had she bumped into? It had felt like a rock-solid wall, but there was nothing in front of her. She put her hands out and then felt it—a smooth wall, as real as anything. She ran her hands along it, feeling a hot, prickling sensation on her skin. The wall ran all the way to the floor and was taller than Kara could reach. Fear shot through her. A somehow-invisible barrier, preventing her from escaping. A cage.

But what could create an invisible barrier like that? It had to be supernatural—nothing Kara had ever heard of could explain something like this. But she knew that everything had a weakness, even if it was supernatural. And if she could find that weakness…She pressed her hands against the barrier and pushed hard, feeling it give a little underneath the force. For a split second she thought that it was actually working, but then something pushed _back_ , and she was thrown flat on her ass. Kara groaned at the tremor that spread through her body and worsened the pounding in her head. Definitely supernatural, then. Kara grimaced at the dirty floor and wiped her hands on her jeans. Obviously, it wasn't the alpha pack's first priority to keep their hideout clean. _Why would it be, when all they use it for is to hold people hostage?_ Kara thought bitterly.

Tears pricked at her eyes, but she willed them away. If Kara started crying now, she'd give in to her panic; then there would be no chance of escaping. No wonder they'd left the vault door open—she was trapped inside an invisible cage, so it didn't matter. But if she could work out how to break it…she might just be able to escape. Her eyes scanned the room and caught on the long pile of dirt on the ground. She went to brush it away, but her hand struck the barrier. Kara narrowed her eyes at the ground. It was strange that the barrier started there—almost as if the dirt marked the beginning of it.

And as Kara looked around, she realised that it did. It wasn't a long pile of dirt—it was a _line_ , which connected to form a circle. A circle around Kara.

She scrambled to her feet. That had to be what was creating the wall. There was a name for it as well, Kara knew. She remembered being told about it, but she couldn't remember its _name._ Something that sounded like—

"Mountain ash. Very useful for situations like this."

A silhouette leaned against the vault doorway. Kara went rigid as _he_ came closer to her, cane tapping against the floor.

She should have known that Deucalion would come for her.

There was just enough light in the room for Kara to make out the details in his face as he stepped out of the shadows. He wore his usual sunglasses and expression of feigned pleasantness. It reminded her of Peter, but she would much rather deal with him. She'd take spending a few days with him over spending even a minute with Deucalion.

"I see you've recovered from your, ah, brief sleep," Deucalion mused.

" _You,"_ Kara snarled, finding her voice. "Why did you bring me here?"

Deucalion smiled, and it was almost as if he were pleased that she had spoken to him like that. As if he were glad that she'd hidden her fear. But of course, it was because Kara's fear had given way to a white-hot anger burning up her throat. She was face to face with the man who had bitten her mother and turned Kara's life into hell. The energy of her power pulsed underneath her skin, begging to be set free. Longing to leash itself around Deucalion's neck.

"Why the mountain ash? Afraid I'll hurt you?" Kara said through gritted teeth.

Deucalion's smirk showed no trace of fear. "If it is of reassurance to you, being inside that circle doesn't just mean you can't get out; it also means I can't get in. I can't hurt you," he said.

 _That doesn't mean I'm safe,_ Kara reminded herself before relief could flood in. _Do not trust his words._

Deucalion continued on, his tone unnervingly pleasant. "I had to restrain you somehow. Otherwise, how would I get you to listen to my offer?"

That made Kara pause. Offer? What could he possibly offer her?

"Whatever it is, my answer is no," she said, hating how she had to fight to keep her voice steady.

"Don't be so sure. In fact, if I were you, I would be listening extremely carefully. I believe you came here looking for information about your mother, correct?"

The hairs on the back of Kara's neck stood up. She ignored the sudden urge to ask him how he knew that. Escaping from the vault was all that mattered, and she had the distinct feeling that Deucalion was trying to distract her.

"You couldn't save your mother, and you want to know why."

His words stung. Kara knew that she'd failed her mother—she'd told herself that a thousand times—but hearing someone else say it was like a slap in the face. The final brick in her wall of guilt. It made her harden, coating her voice in steel.

"I already know why. You're the Alpha who bit her, aren't you?"

Kara waited. A heartbeat. Two. Something flashed across Deucalion's face, but then it was gone. "I am."

Whatever Kara had expected to feel after she found out the truth, it was not this. A cold, icy numbness spread from her stomach to the ends of her limbs. She had not expected to feel suffocated, like someone had pushed a pillow over her face. She'd prepared herself for anger, for rage, the need for revenge. Not the sudden lost feeling that opened up a gaping hole in her chest.

"Why," she breathed. "Why her."

"Your mother was…at the wrong place at the wrong time. It was a full moon, as you might remember."

She didn't. Everything from that night was flashes of images—a shadow stalking the edge of the trees, her mother falling, the blood tainting her vision. Those horrible red eyes.

"How did you know it was me?" Deucalion asked,

"You would have killed her if we hadn't escaped," Kara said, ignoring his question. "If she hadn't used her powers against you."

Deucalion went silent. For a fearful moment Kara thought that he would lash out, but he merely folded his cane up, the snap of each fold too loud against the still night.

"I was wondering if you remembered that," he said quietly. There was a strange undertone to his voice, something distant and bare. Different from the calculated pleasantness Kara had come to expect from him.

He spoke again, and all traces of sincerity vanished. "I know that you possess the same powers as your mother."

Kara's stomach gave a nervous flutter. It wasn't a secret that he knew of her powers, but hearing him say it out loud made it more real. She wondered how much he knew about them, if it was more than she did. Had Deucalion realised that she came to Beacon Hills for answers about her powers as well? He seemed to know a great deal about her already, so it wouldn't surprise her if he knew that too. And if he had information on her powers…She could ask, but would it be worth the risk of Deucalion realising how vulnerable she really was? The thought made her clench her jaw. Kara had known that finding answers in Beacon Hills wouldn't be easy, but to risk herself in the process…She had to decide how badly she wanted it. How much she was willing to give up to have a shot at understanding her powers. And as she felt something flicker deep within her, Kara knew what her choice would be.

"What do you know of my powers?" Kara asked as she stared at Deucalion, unflinching. _He can't touch you while you're inside the circle of mountain ash,_ Kara had to remind herself when he stepped closer, his eyes unreadable behind his sunglasses.

"I know that they make you extremely powerful, even if you don't quite understand them yet."

Extremely powerful? He had to know more than what he'd been letting on to make a statement like that. Kara waited, but Deucalion yielded nothing more.

"Do you understand them?" she questioned, willing her voice to be as hard as marble. Her question must have caught him off guard, because his lips thinned and it took him a moment to answer her. "Not fully, but I know someone who will. She'd be able to give you answers. And not just about you, either."

Kara's heart quickened at his words. She knew who he meant, but she squashed down her excitement and narrowed her eyes. "What's the catch?"

"Be a part of my pack. Join me, and learn about your powers. Discover your strength."

He wanted her in his pack. The realisation hit her hard, and for a moment she forgot how to breathe. Kara shook her head, a disbelieving laugh working its way up her throat. There were many things she was willing to do to find answers, but becoming a murderer was not one of them.

"And let you turn me into a monster? Never," Kara said, disgust coating every word. Deucalion's lip curled unpleasantly, and Kara might have felt scared if it wasn't for the anger rising in her, drowning out everything else. Did he really think she would join him after what he did to her family?

"Those abilities of yours are dangerous, Kara. If you don't learn how to control them they will destroy you and those around you."

As if hearing Deucalion's words, her powers stirred. They crackled beneath her skin, intertwining with the anger that threatened to spill out.

Kara clenched her fists, feeling as though Deucalion's eyes were scanning every inch of her. "You're full of shit. You don't want to help me; you just want to use me for my powers."

"I may seem cruel, Kara, but I want you to reach your full potential. Your mother would have wanted you to—"

"You don't get to talk about her! You don't know what she wanted," Kara seethed, cutting him off before another vile word could come out of his mouth. For once, Deucalion looked a little unsettled. The sheer nerve of him, talking about Ella as if he knew her. As if he hadn't killed her.

"Just let me go," Kara demanded. "I'll never join your pack—and neither will Derek."

Kara regretted the words as soon as they were out of her mouth. Deucalion's mouth curled into a knowing smirk.

"You care about him," the Alpha mused. "Tell me, will you still feel the same way about him when he kills his pack to join mine?"

There was a roaring in her ears as she snarled at Deucalion, "You don't know him. He'd never do that."

The smirk dropped from the Alpha's face. "People will surprise you, Kara. It would be wise for you to join me before Derek decides to take up my offer and you're no longer his ally. Even if he refuses, his pack will still be killed. Standing with him will get you hurt."

"You killed my mother! I'd rather go to _hell_ than join you," Kara spat, voice shaking with fury. Her powers were straining against her skin as if begging to be let loose, and Kara had to fight the urge to let go of them.

Deucalion gave a sigh full of feigned pity. "I may have bitten her, Kara, but you were the one who truly left her to die. You failed her when you set that house on fire and ran away."

Kara lurched forward and slammed her fists against the barrier, her anger breaking through like a feral dog let loose from a cage. This time the barrier didn't push her back, and she hit it again and again, trying to reach the monster standing before her.

"You coward! You murdered her!" she screamed at him. His face remained unchanged, his impassive expression revealing nothing. He had no remorse. No guilt, no concern over the years of suffering he had inflicted upon the Grayson family.

Somewhere inside of Kara, a tether snapped free, and her vision was set on fire.

But it wasn't a flame that lit up the room. No—it was a golden stream of light, like liquid fire. Something deep and old and ancient. Something that had been brewing for a long, long time. Kara felt it through every bone in her body, as if it were a _part_ of her and not just something that lived underneath her skin. Her powers rose up around her as swift as smoke, encasing her in a sphere. It was unlike anything she had ever seen before. It was something pure, untouched. She didn't know how this had come from _her,_ how something this powerful could reside within her. She didn't know where she ended and where her powers began—the lines between human and supernatural had blurred.

She should have panicked. She should have been scared of the golden light that flowed from her body in waves, but all she felt was calm. Like a great weight had been lifted from her shoulders.

Kara heard a gasp from outside the sphere and she suddenly remembered who was in the room with her. The anger came surging back, and the swirling mass of her powers suddenly sharpened. The sphere disappeared and the golden fire turned translucent, allowing Kara to see Deucalion cowering— _cowering,_ his face slack with a mixture of horror and fascination. It wasn't enough. Kara wanted him to be afraid. She wanted him to know what it was truly like to be terrified.

She slammed her fists against the barrier separating them, and her powers did the same—a wall of curling golden fire had formed to push against it. She had to make Deucalion pay for the years of suffering he'd caused her mother, for the years of hell Kara had been put through. She threw herself at the barrier again and felt it shudder as her powers rammed into it with a solid _thud._ Deucalion took a step back, the movement slow and dazed. He had no idea what he'd unleashed.

Kara screamed with the effort of pushing against the barrier, of using her powers as a battering ram. She roared words at Deucalion, each one as sharp as a knife. Coward. Murderer. Monster. They burned the inside of her throat, her tongue, her lips as they escaped her. She hoped they burned Deucalion too.

The barrier shuddered again, and Kara felt the tremor go through her bones and her powers. The golden fire flared brighter, as if sensing the weakness in the mountain ash cage, and Kara urged it forward. _Breakthrough, breakthrough, break, break,_ every part of her chanted, driven wild by the anger and power coursing through her. Hands still pressed against the barrier, Kara felt something crack. Her head whipped up to look for the source of the fracture and she watched as a tendril of light broke through the invisible wall, snaking its way towards Deucalion.

The Alpha backed away, faced with a part of her power that had broken free. Kara urged it forward, but then she felt another tremor—not through the barrier, but through _her._ The tendril of power faltered inches away from Deucalion. It shuddered, as if it too felt the weakness slowly spreading through Kara's limbs. She pushed against the barrier, frantically trying to fracture it again, but there was something wrong. Her wall of golden fire was dissipating, slowly shrinking back. No— _no._ Kara had sapped up all her strength. She was running on fumes, and those fumes weren't enough to completely break the barrier.

"Come on!" Kara yelled, but her vision had begun to blur at the edges. She was so close to shattering the mountain ash barrier, to reaching Deucalion. She just had to push harder, rally her powers again—but then Deucalion smirked, and something in Kara splintered.

"No," she breathed as Deucalion turned on his heel and strode out of the vault. Her powers flickered around her, becoming a swirling mass of golden smoke. She had to get out. She couldn't stay trapped here, not if she would soon be left too weak to defend herself. And Kara knew that weakness would come soon—she could feel her strength fading, along with her powers. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She had one last chance to break the barrier before she exhausted herself. One last chance at freedom.

Kara dredged up the last of that ancient power that dwelled within her, urging it forward. She felt a slight pressure against her back, as if it had formed a shield against her back. No, not a shield—extra force. The best that could be done.

Kara thrust her body forward and pushed against the barrier with everything she had.

Footsteps thundered from outside the vault. Kara's head snapped towards the sound. Mistake—her focus slipped. She saw blurred figures running towards her before the barrier shoved her back and she went flying. She hit the other side of the invisible cage, body slamming against it and then crumpling into a heap on the floor.

Kara's vision swam and she groaned at the ache that spread throughout her body. Her head was too heavy to lift, so she watched figures frantically climb into the vault from her position on the ground. She could hear people speaking, but their words were muted and murky, as if they were underwater. It was getting harder to keep her eyes open. All she wanted to do was given in to the urge to close them and let go, to slip away. But the voices were getting louder, and Kara caught a few urgent words. _Mountain ash. Alpha pack. Scott._ They seemed familiar, but they didn't fit together to form a picture. She was missing too many pieces of the puzzle.

A face came into view, pale and pinched. She watched through her blurry vision as a boy bent down and scattered the mountain ash on the ground. Just like that. She gave a short, rasping laugh, and the action sent waves of pain through her skull. How ridiculous that this skinny, human boy had broken the barrier so easily when she had exhausted her powers trying to break it.

Her name was being called. It rang through her mind, urgent and clear. Hands pressed against her back. She was being pulled into someone's arms, and suddenly another face came into view. It hovered over her own, eyes wide and searching. Kara inhaled sharply, her sluggish mind finally putting all the pieces together. Derek and the others had come for her. Tears now hindered her vision as well as the threat of unconsciousness. Derek smoothed her hair back and held her tighter, then twisted to yell out behind him for someone to get help. Kara tried to hold onto the details of his face in her fight to stay awake; she picked out the green, clear eyes, the dark stubble that covered his jaw. She reached out a hand and placed it against his cheek, needing to make sure that he was real. Derek leaned into it slightly, something like devastation on his face.

Black dots danced in front of Kara's eyes. Deucalion had won. He'd taken her here and tormented her and she'd nearly killed herself trying to get at him. He knew—he knew about how Kara had abandoned her mother. He knew everything. Including how to break her.

She slid her hand from Derek's face and gripped his shirt, bunching the fabric in her fist. She ignored his look of alarm and forced out the four words that drew the line of no return.

"I want him dead."


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

Eyes closed, Kara pieced together the fragments of memory that stabbed at her. She hadn't yet figured out why her head was throbbing, or why a deep ache ran through her entire body, but she did know that she was lying on a hospital bed. A sterile scent assaulted her nose, and she knew that as soon as she opened her eyes she'd be assaulted by light as well. Better to stay in the dark, the quiet. The undisturbed.

Images formed in her mind. Memories of what had happened last night—or at least, she _assumed_ it was last night. For all Kara knew, she could have been in the hospital for days. With the heavy blanket of fatigue laying over her, she certainly felt like she'd just woken up from a coma. But the memories that slowly emerged didn't seem like her own—she felt like a bystander, as if she was watching them happen to someone else. The Kara lying in a hospital bed could not have been the woman who produced golden fire. She could not have been the woman who almost broke through the mountain ash barrier and reached Deucalion. Kara swallowed. No—she knew that they had to be her memories. She still felt the sting of Deucalion's words about her mother, a flicker of the rage that she had unleashed upon him. The cold, empty realisation that he was the one who bit her mother.

Tears pricked her eyes and she finally opened them, blinking against the light that filled her vision. A small noise, like a breath hitching, sounded from beside Kara. She turned her head—a bad idea, considering the pounding that then intensified—to find Cora sitting on a plastic chair next to the bed. She gave Kara a tight smile.

"How are you feeling?" she asked, getting up to pour Kara a cup of water.

"I feel like shit," Kara said hoarsely, trying to make light of the situation despite the lump in her throat.

"Yeah, being slammed against a mountain ash barrier might do that to you," Cora mused. With a worrying amount of effort, Kara pulled herself upright, ignoring the protests from her aching body. She attempted a smile as Cora handed her the water, but it came out like more of a grimace. Tears still threatened to well in her eyes, but Kara wasn't quite sure why she felt the urge to cry.

Cora scanned over Kara's face, something strange in her eyes despite the casual expression on her face. Pity—it was pity in Cora's eyes. Kara glanced away from her. Out of everyone she knew, Cora Hale was the one person she'd never expect to be pitied by. The realisation made her want to cry even more.

Kara took a sip of water. "How much did you see?"

"We ran in just as you got thrown back."

Meaning that she saw Kara using her powers. The unspoken words hung between them, and Kara wanted to ask what they had looked like. So far, all she could remember of her powers was a swirling gold mass.

But her powers were not her first priority right now, even if she wanted them to be.

"How did you find me?" she asked, watching as Cora sat down on the chair.

"A while after you left I went out to go grab dinner, but I found your phone on the ground outside. It was completely smashed, and I knew that you could have just accidentally dropped it but…something felt wrong," Cora said, and it was an effort for Kara's sleepy mind to process her words. "I went to the distillery and found Derek there—he said that you'd already come and gone. I told him that you hadn't come back yet and he…I think he was pretty worried."

Kara closed her eyes briefly. _I made a deal with Derek,_ she reminded herself. _That's the only reason why he was worried_. Kara repeated those words to herself, even as they stung her.

"We tracked your scent to the bank vault and I called Stiles on the way because Derek thought there was a chance that you might be trapped in mountain ash," Cora finished.

"Because of how Scott found Deaton in mountain ash," Kara realised. She paused for a moment, allowing her sluggish brain to take in everything. If Cora and Derek hadn't gone looking for her…Kara wondered what Deucalion would have done to her. Would he have held her captive until she agreed to become part of his pack, or until he figured out a way to force her into helping him? She shuddered at the thought. Deucalion had granted Derek's pack safety until the next full moon, but apparently, that safety did not extend to Kara. She was a not a member of Derek's pack.

"He wants me in his pack," Kara said quietly.

Cora's eyebrows shot up. "Why the hell would he want that?" she asked, but even as she said it, realisation dawned on her face. "He wants to use you for your powers."

Kara swallowed. "He also….he's the Alpha I've been looking for. He's the one who bit my mother."

Cora's face tightened. "And the bastard had the nerve to ask you to be in his pack."

Kara took another sip of water, hoping that Cora didn't notice how her hand shook. Cora's features softened and she opened her mouth to say something, but then thought better of it. Kara tried not to look too relieved. She was fairly sure of what Cora had been about to say, and that it would have dissolved whatever strength Kara was using to hold herself together.

"So what happened with your powers?" Cora asked instead.

Kara gave her the short version. She didn't have the energy to fully dive back into those memories—they were not ones she liked to recall. "Deucalion goaded me into losing control of my powers, and…I almost had him. I almost broke through the mountain ash."

"I've never heard of anyone doing that," Cora said, frowning.

"I get why—I almost killed myself trying to do it."

"Because using your powers used up so much energy?"

It was Kara's turn to frown. "I don't know—it felt like it was more than that. Like I used so much of my powers that I dug too deep into myself and…I don't know. I went too far," she shrugged. "What time is it?"

Cora checked her phone. "It's 3 pm."

"I've been asleep for that long?" Kara asked, eyes widening.

"You did take a pretty hard hit, and using up your powers would have drained you," Cora said, getting up from her position on the chair. "Which is why I'm going to leave you to get some rest."

"Thanks for saving my life, by the way," Kara said, offering Cora a tired smile.

"No problem. Just don't make it too much of a habit," she warned, a faint smile tugging on her lips.

Kara sunk back down onto the bed with a wince, exhaustion washing over her body. God, she felt like she could sleep for a week straight. But then a thought struck her, and Kara was forcing her aching body upright.

"Wait," she called out just as Cora turned to leave. Kara hesitated as the girl lingered by the doorway. "How is Derek?"

Maybe it was just her sluggish state, but Kara could have sworn that something flickered in Cora's eyes. "He's…better. He's still mourning, but whatever you said to him at the distillery seemed to have helped."

She knew what Cora didn't say—that Derek still wasn't completely…whole. She understood. She remembered that haunted look in his eyes and knew that it would be there for a long time—there was no easy way around grief, no easy way out. It was something she was still learning every day.

Kara watched through half-lidded eyes as Cora left the room, the door closing with a click behind her. The urge to cry welled up in her again, no longer suppressed. The stress and shock of everything that had happened finally got to her, and Kara couldn't stop the tears that slid down her face. It was all one big mess—everything had gone to shit. Beacon Hills was supposed to hold the answers to questions that had tormented her for so long; it was supposed to be a new beginning. A chance to recover. And God, the _one thing_ she had to do in return for all the help that Scott and Derek and the others had given to her…she couldn't even do that. For all her power and despite the fact that she'd promised to help them face the Alpha pack, she couldn't help anyone other than herself.

Eventually, the flow of tears ebbed as exhaustion tugged her into a heavy, dreamless sleep. It was more than she deserved.

* * *

Kara lay awake, listening to the muffled footsteps that passed by her door every so often. She'd had no more visitors after Cora apart from a nurse, who'd come in to check on her. She had told Kara that it was recommended she stay another night in hospital just to make sure everything was fine.

"Plus," the nurse had said with a kind smile, "I think you could use some more rest after falling down all those stairs."

It had been an effort for Kara not to snort. She'd been wondering what story Cora had made up about the cause of her injuries—they couldn't exactly say that she'd been kidnapped by werewolves.

Kara lightly pressed a cool hand to her forehead, hoping to ease the pounding in her head. A slight concussion and some pretty nasty bruises were the only injuries she'd received from her encounter with Deucalion, and even then most of that had come from trying to break free of the mountain ash. Kara guessed that even without the head injury she'd still have this damn headache—whatever drug Deucalion had used to knock her out probably hadn't left her system yet.

Footsteps sounded outside her door again, but this time they didn't fade away. Kara glanced over to see the door swing open, and something caught in her throat as Derek stepped into the room. His eyes landed on her, and for a moment it was hard to breathe—for both of them, it seemed. Derek went utterly still, his arms hanging limply at his sides. Even his face was slack. It unnerved her. It was unlike Derek to be this silent. Like he was lost for words.

"What's that look for?" Kara managed to get out. She raised her eyebrows at him, falling back into her unruffled, amused front. Like she hadn't just been kidnapped by the leader of an Alpha Pack—like nothing ever affected her.

Derek regained his composure enough to say, "I just didn't expect you to look so…"

"…unbelievably amazing even though I'm in hospital? I'm not sure how I do it either."

Kara almost gave a sigh of relief when Derek chuckled. Something in her tone must have broken through whatever daze he was in, and she was glad. The look on Derek's face when he'd first walked in…it had made her feel like she was teetering on the edge of a cliff. The normal between them was teasing remarks and raised eyebrows—not the precarious silence that had stretched over them moments ago.

"I was going to say that you look like death, but I guess amazing works too," Derek snorted. Kara scoffed but immediately regretted it when the pounding in her head worsened.

Derek turned to fully close the door behind him and Kara used the opportunity to take in his appearance. He had changed clothes since she saw him at the distillery and some of the colour had returned to his face, but he still looked exhausted. _Better, though,_ Kara reminded herself. He had looked like a mess at the distillery.

Kara glanced at the dark shadows under Derek's eyes. "You don't exactly look like a spring chicken either," she quipped. "When was the last time you slept?"

"Sleep hasn't really been my first priority lately," Derek admitted.

"Yeah, well sleep kind of becomes your _only_ priority after getting a concussion."

Derek's face hardened. Maybe she shouldn't have made a joke about that.

"I'm fine," she said breezily, waving a hand. "Only a minor concussion."

A muscle twitched in Derek's jaw, and Kara knew as soon as he opened his mouth she would not like the words that came out.

"What happened in the vault, Kara?"

She swallowed. She knew he would eventually ask, of course, but it didn't make it any easier. Kara stared at her hands, unable to look Derek in the eyes. She wasn't entirely sure what made it so hard to talk about—maybe it was a combination of things. Of everything. The painful truth of Deucalion's words, the fact that she hadn't been able powerful enough to stop him, the horrible emptiness she'd felt when Deucalion confirmed he was the Alpha who bit Ella Grayson… Not to mention that it was _Derek_ that she was trying to tell all of this to. She had come pretty close to breaking down when Cora was here, and Kara was pretty sure she would die of embarrassment if she cried in front of Derek.

"Deucalion hurt you, didn't he?" Derek said quietly. Too quiet.

"No, he didn't," Kara said hastily, surprised at the anger lacing Derek's face. "At least, not physically."

Derek's brows knitted together. "What do you mean?"

"He goaded me into getting angry enough to lose control of my powers. He said some things about my mum and I just…snapped."

"Is he the Alpha who…?"

Kara nodded, not needing him to continue. She longed for some shred of relief at finally knowing who bit her mother, but there was nothing. Only the same hollow ache that threatened to swallow her whole.

Kara continued on before she lost her nerve, explaining to Derek how she'd almost shattered the mountain ash barrier with her powers and that a tendril of power _had_ broken through the barrier. At least, before Kara had drained herself dry.

"That was what you saw. I must have used up my source of power and the mountain ash was able to push me back."

"Guess that's where the concussion came from," Derek mused, and Kara winced at the memory. "But why even kidnap you in the first place? What did Deucalion want?"

"He wants me in his pack," Kara sighed, watching as Derek's face went slack with shock, then quickly tightened again. "He made me an offer—join his pack, and he would help me learn about my supernatural abilities. Apparently, he knows someone who can help me."

Derek was silent for a moment, eyes downcast. Thinking. Kara couldn't tell what was going on beneath his impassive face.

"What is it?" Kara asked when he didn't speak. Derek's eyes rose to meet hers, and she saw the anger in them. There was something else as well—something like grim realisation.

"Deucalion might have wanted you to lose control of your powers so that he could gauge how powerful you are," Derek said, and Kara's stomach dropped. "He wants you in his pack, right? He probably saw you lose control of your powers when I almost died and wanted to know more."

"And I played right into his hands," Kara breathed. God, she even thought she'd _scared_ him with her powers—but it had been exactly what he wanted. All those things he said to her had the sole purpose of getting a rise out of her. And it had worked.

Kara swallowed, suddenly feeling much too defenceless in her hospital bed. "What do you think he'll do next?"

Derek blew out a frustrated breath. "I don't know. We're always one step behind him. He gave us until the next full moon, but..."

 _He didn't give all of us until the next full moon,_ Kara thought. "You think he'll do something before then?"

Derek shook his head. "It's not that. But the fact that they're giving us this long of a break makes me think they're planning something big."

"Then we need to be ready," Kara stated, shoving down the fear the crept into her veins like ice. She would have to face Deucalion again eventually, she knew, but the thought still terrified her. Kara wasn't strong enough to take him on. She didn't have super speed or strength and her powers were unreliable. She couldn't ask Derek and the others to protect her, because they had enough to worry about. They had done so much for her already even though she had done nothing for them. Guilt settled in her stomach. Kara was supposed to helping them defeat the Alpha pack, and so far all she'd done was get in their way.

"I'm sorry I wasn't able to take down Deucalion," she said abruptly, needing to apologise before the guilt consumed her. "I know I haven't been keeping up my end of the deal we made and—"

"Kara, no one blames you for that," Derek interrupted her, his face softening.

"I came to Beacon Hills and I told you that I would be able to help. I told you that I had powers that could help, but I haven't even been able to use them. How is that okay?"

"Kara, listen to me. You can't expect that much from yourself—you came here _three weeks_ after your mother died. You took care of her for twelve years before that. How can you expect to have figured out your powers by now when you were never given the chance to?"

Kara stared at Derek. She looked at the determined set of his mouth, at the intensity in his eyes, and felt herself falling. The certainty of it struck her so deeply that she had to look away.

"I just…" Kara trailed off, frustrated that she couldn't find the right words to explain herself. Why this mattered so much to her. She wasn't able to help her mother, but she had been given the chance to help the people of Beacon Hills—and she was wasting it.

Kara turned her head to meet Derek's gaze. "I can't sit back and do nothing."

"I know. Which is why I asked Deaton if he'd be willing to help you figure out your powers."

"Thank you," Kara said, giving him a grateful smile. God, just when she started to doubt her feelings for him, he surprised her and everything came rushing back. It scared her how much of an effect Derek had on her. Kara shut the door on those thoughts. If she was going to figure out her powers she couldn't be distracted. And she _would_ figure them out—she would make Deucalion regret ever laying a finger on her. On her mother. The thought stirred memories of last night, of Deucalion taunting her. She tried to block the words out, but they crammed themselves into her brain, each one as sharp as a knife. A surge of anger went through her as she remembered Deucalion admitting he was the Alpha who bit her mother.

"Deucalion doesn't care that I know he's the Alpha I've been looking for, even though he knows I want revenge. He doesn't care because he doesn't think I'm a threat," Kara realised, bitterness coating her voice.

"I wouldn't be so sure if I were him," Derek remarked.

Kara frowned in surprise. "Why?"

"Right before you passed out in the vault, you said something to me," Derek said, rubbing the back of his neck. He almost looked unsettled. "You told me you wanted Deucalion dead, and you seemed…pretty determined."

His words brought back another memory—one of arms cradling her body, of a hand smoothing back her hair. She'd give anything to be held like that again.

"I don't remember saying that, but I don't take it back," she said slowly. The anger and hatred she'd felt for Deucalion hadn't disappeared—it lurked beneath the surface, waiting for the right time to emerge. She still wanted to make him feel terrified, like he had done to her. And if she dug deep enough…yes, the urge to kill him still remained. She wondered if it made her monster, a terrible, selfish person. She wondered if she cared.

Derek nodded, his gaze unflinching. "Then we need to make sure you can take him down."

Kara blinked in surprise. He hadn't tried to tell her that she couldn't do it, that she wasn't powerful enough. A swell of gratitude rose in her chest. She wondered if he knew how much it meant to her, and if she would ever have the guts to tell him.

Derek stood up from the plastic chair. "I'm going to grab some food. Do you want me to ask the nurse to get you anything?"

Kara opened to her mouth to reply, but she was cut off by the sound of her stomach grumbling. Her cheeks burned with embarrassment, but Derek merely laughed.

"I'll take that as a yes," he grinned. He headed towards the door but swivelled around right as he went to open it.

"Before I forget," Derek said, reaching for his back pocket. Kara watched as he pulled out a phone and handed it to her. She looked up at him, confusion written all over her face.

"I thought I'd get you a new phone since your other one got smashed," he explained, rubbing the back of his neck.

"You didn't have to do that."

Derek shrugged. "You didn't have to bring me food at the distillery."

Kara wasn't sure if it was her concussion messing with her head, but she could have sworn there was something else he was trying to say. His eyes searched her face, as if looking for a reaction. And as Derek shifted on his feet, looking uncharacteristically uncomfortable, Kara realised that she might not have been the only one who found it hard to express gratitude. So she smiled at Derek, nodding subtly. His answering smile was something she still thought about hours after he left, and well into the night.

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **This chapter is a bit shorter than usual, but hope you enjoyed anyway! I have plenty more coming :)**

 **As always, reviews are welcome.**


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

Kara let out a string of violent curses as she stubbed her toe on the edge of her bed. A bark of laughter sounded from down the hallway, and Kara huffed in exasperation.

"I'm glad you find my pain amusing," she muttered dryly, knowing Derek could hear her. Kara hopped around on one foot, looking for the pair of boots she had tossed somewhere after coming home from the hospital that morning. Her body still ached in places she didn't remember injuring—random spikes of pain along her back if she moved too suddenly or breathed too deeply, bruises lacing her shoulders and thighs. It made her feel irritatingly weak.

Her injured state hadn't been lost on Derek. He'd been weirdly friendly with her since she got home, and she was torn between being flattered and annoyed that he was treating her differently just because of what had happened with Deucalion. Not that Kara didn't enjoy the change from his usual, reserved front—she just wished that it was because he wanted to open up to her. Not because he pitied her.

Kara swallowed her disgust at the thought. She swept her eyes across her room and spotted the missing boots underneath the bed. Letting out a soft groan of annoyance, she bent down to retrieve them.

"What are you doing?"

Derek's voice was low and teasing, sending a jolt of surprise through her.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" she huffed, suppressing a wince of pain as her head throbbed. She laced up her boots with swift fingers, the action as familiar as making a bed. Kara glanced at Derek, who was leaning up against the doorframe, arms folded. She caught the unguarded, soft look on his face—a look he wore when he thought she wasn't looking. It had started appearing yesterday and she couldn't figure it out. It was a fleeting expression, a brief thought flashing across his face. It unnerved her. It made her feel uneasy, because what she could have sworn she saw on his face…fear. Not of her, but the fear of _what if_ , of what could have been. It was what Kara imagined she looked like after she found out Derek was alive.

 _You know that's not it,_ Kara snapped at herself. It was cruel to give herself that hope. Especially when she knew there was something going on between Derek and that teacher.

A bitter taste in her mouth, Kara rose to face Derek. There was no trace of the strange expression on his face. A faint smile tugged at his mouth, a sight that eased some of the tension in her body.

"Deaton said we could come over anytime from now," Derek informed her. Right. The meeting with Deaton. She hadn't forgotten about it—in fact, it had been one of the only things on her mind since getting home—but some part of her had expected it to fall through. She couldn't believe that after all these years she would finally find out something about her powers. _You don't know that for sure,_ Kara reminded herself sharply. Deaton hadn't said that he knew what she was, only that he would try his best to figure her powers out. Figure _her_ out.

"We don't have to go now," Derek said, reading the conflict on her face.

Kara snapped out of her daze, realising that she had been biting her lip. She schooled her face into neutrality and shook her head. "No. I want to."

Satisfied with her answer, Derek nodded and started down the hallway. Kara followed, grabbing her keys on the way out.

Kara made a face at the sight of the never-ending stairs. Derek threw her an amused glance.

"I can carry you if you want," Derek grinned.

Kara shot him a glare, even though she knew he was joking. "I think I'd rather get another concussion."

Derek snorted and started down the stairs. "We can take my car."

"I can drive."

"How about we let the person who _doesn't_ have a concussion drive."

"I can barely feel it anymore."

Derek narrowed his eyes. "I saw you take aspirin before we left."

Damn. She thought he hadn't noticed. "Fine. You drive."

A memory flashed through her mind, of this exact same conversation between them a while ago—when they had gone to the high school to trap Boyd and Cora. The thought of Boyd sent a pang of despair through her, but she pushed it away. She knew if she leaned into the feeling it would consume her.

Kara hadn't let Derek drive himself home after he had nearly been clawed to death by Boyd and Cora. Now he was returning the favour.

The drive to the animal clinic was silent, but not uncomfortable. Kara wondered if Derek could sense her nervous energy as they pulled into the parking lot. This meeting with Deaton would either be a complete hit or miss. It was an effort to squash the hope rising in her; she didn't want to be disappointed if Deaton knew nothing. If he couldn't help her…Kara didn't know where else to go. She didn't have any other options. _There is something else,_ a voice reminded her. Kara clenched her jaw. Of course, there was Deucalion's offer—assuming he was telling the truth. But she would not turn to Deucalion for help. Not even as a last resort.

They reached the door of the animal clinic and walked into the waiting room, a soft bell signalling their arrival. Deaton appeared from around the corner, his wise face splitting into a kind smile. It eased some of Kara's nerves. She would be okay if Deaton couldn't tell her much. She would find another way to figure out her powers.

"I was wondering if you would come today," he said, moving past them to flip the sign on the door to _closed._ He beckoned for them to follow him through to the main room of the clinic. Kara felt Derek behind her as they walked through. Kara would never admit it, but his presence was comforting. She was glad he came with her.

"I heard what happened with Deucalion," Deaton said, sympathy in his voice. Kara guessed that Derek had mentioned it to him. "If you don't mind me asking, did you find out what he wanted?"

Kara's voice came out steadier than she expected. "He wants me to join his pack. He knows I came to Beacon Hills to find answers about my past, and he said that he knew someone who could help me with my powers. Deucalion is also," Kara added, "the Alpha who bit my mother."

Deaton's face was thoughtful. "So Deucalion knows about your powers. I suspected the same when I first met you."

Kara blinked in surprise. "You knew I was supernatural?"

"I had a feeling," Deaton said, a twinkle in his eyes. "Unfortunately, I haven't been able to identify what you are. It doesn't mean there is no name for your powers—I just haven't encountered someone like you before."

Kara felt disappointment lodge itself in her throat. She had guessed that the chances of Deaton knowing about her powers were low, but that had not stopped her from hoping.

"But," Deaton continued, "that doesn't mean I can't help you with your powers. Help you control them, learn about them."

Hope bloomed in her chest. She glanced at Derek, who gave her a small smile.

"I just need to know about your powers—as much as you can tell me," Deaton said. So Kara did. She spilled everything she knew about the golden fire residing within her. She told him about the frequency she could send out that affected werewolves, the golden, fire-like light that had burst from her both at the abandoned mall and when Deucalion had taunted her. She spoke of how drained using her powers left her.

Deaton frowned. "It sounds like your powers are triggered by strong emotions."

"I haven't really been able to summon them at will, apart from the frequency thing."

"That element of your supernatural being is quite universal—the question of control," Deaton said. "It takes time and practice, and it is rarely easy."

Derek nodded in agreement. "Like werewolves controlling their shift on a full moon."

"Exactly. Except I think with your abilities, it works both ways. They are hard to suppress when triggered, but hard to draw out at will."

"That makes sense," Kara said. She didn't realise how good it would feel to finally talk about her powers— _really_ talk about them. Especially with someone who could help her.

"I know you must still be exhausted from using your powers so much, but are you able to reach for them? Try to summon them?" Deaton asked gently.

Kara didn't miss the look that Derek threw her way, nor could she decipher it. "I can try," she said slowly. She steeled herself and spiralled down into where her powers resided deep within her. She urged them upwards, tugging with all of her mental strength—but no flicker of power greeted her. It was empty, barren. Not even a whisper of power resided there.

She swallowed uneasily. "I can't feel them."

Deaton and Derek exchanged glances, and Kara had to quell a surge of panic that rose up inside her like a tidal wave. It felt like some part of her had been ripped away. The presence of her powers had always been comforting, a welcome reminder that she was not completely defenceless. But now they were gone.

"It might be a temporary absence," Deaton offered, his calm tone smoothing over the edges of her panic. "It would make sense for your powers to be drained initially after using them to a breaking point. I suspect that your reserve of power will be restored over time, with rest and food."

 _I can't sit around any longer,_ Kara thought. She was done waiting. She knew Deaton was probably right—but that wouldn't stop her from doing everything she could to get her powers back.

So Kara tried again. Eyes closed, she tunnelled deeper into herself, casting her mind into memories of golden firelight dancing from her fingertips. _Please come back to me._

There. Kara's eyes flew open. A spark of light, a whisper in the dark. Relief flooded her. "I can feel them," she breathed. "Very faintly, but they are there."

"Give it time," Deaton instructed her. "Don't push it."

Kara nodded. "Do you know how I could be able to summon my powers at will? Once they're fully restored, of course."

"If I'm right, it's a mental battle as well as a physical one," Deaton said thoughtfully. "All I can advise you to do is practice, as much as you can. Use your emotions to draw them out. Practice reaching for your powers, practice drawing them out and using them. Start small. The more familiar you become with them, the more natural it will be to summon them. Hopefully, that will be where you start to control them."

Kara nodded, hope and relief expanding in her chest. It made her feel lighter. She didn't have to be weighed down by the burden of her powers anymore—she could turn it from a burden into something useful. Something that could protect her and those she cared about. She wouldn't have to be afraid of losing control, either. She wouldn't have to be afraid of becoming a monster.

A thought struck her. It was no good learning how to summon her powers if she didn't know how to _use_ them—how to fight with them. A memory surfaced. Her and Derek, sparring. Blood trickling from her nose, a flash of rage, and then Derek was stumbling back, pushed by the force of Kara's powers. She had used her powers to defend herself then—what if she could learn how to not only control her powers but fight with them as well? Kara had burnt out incredibly quickly from just using her powers at the bank vault, which meant that to defend herself she wouldn't be able to rely on her powers alone. But if she could blend her fighting skills and her supernatural abilities…she would stand a chance against the Alpha Pack and the Darach. She'd be able to fight back.

"Thank you," she said to Deaton, a grateful smile forming on her face. The veterinarian returned the favour.

"Keep me updated on what's going on. And don't push yourself too far," he warned her. Kara nodded sheepishly, wondering how he knew she had a tendency to do so.

Derek and Deaton shared a look between them before and Derek left the animal clinic. Kara had almost forgotten that they had known each other since Derek was little—Deaton had been the Hale family's emissary. Before Kate Argent burned the Hale house down to ashes, taking the majority of Derek's family with it. In a way, Deaton was one of the few connections to his family he had left.

* * *

Kara sat in bed and stared at the sunlight streaming in from her window, noticing how much it resembled her powers. She'd like to believe that the essence of sunlight ran through her veins, but the power crackling underneath her skin was much too lethal, much too capable of destroying. But then again, Kara mused, so was the sun.

She'd had another nightmare. The memory of it had faded to mere flashes of images, but Kara could still feel the cold sweat dripping down her back when she had startled awake in the early morning. She hadn't been able to sleep since. And despite not remembering all the details of the dream, Kara knew what it had been about. That she had killed someone with her abilities.

Kara wondered if her mother ever got nightmares like that too. If she had been haunted by taking an innocent life away, or if she simply didn't remember the incident. If she did, she never let on to Kara.

Pushing the thought away, Kara examined her fingers. She envisioned golden firelight dancing across them. Her powers had strengthened since the day before when she had visited Deaton. Kara reached for the power pooling in her body. Not entirely restored, but still strong. Strong enough to use them.

Kara concentrated on the flow of power underneath the skin of her hands and pulled, urging them forwards. _Use your emotions to draw them out._ Deaton's words echoed in her head. Kara thought of her mother, of her anguished screams during full moons. She thought of Deucalion, of the monster who had done that to her, and anger swelled up in her chest. Heat gathered at her fingertips, and Kara gasped in surprise as tendrils of light cascaded out. They flickered feebly for a moment and died. It didn't matter—it had worked, if only for a second. All she had to do now was make it last.

Kara showered and dressed quickly. She planned to spend the whole day working on powers and she didn't want to waste any time.

The loft was empty, even though it was still early in the morning. She didn't know where Cora or Derek were, but she was glad to have the loft to herself. It would make it easier to practice with her powers. As long as Peter didn't show up. _I could always break his hand again,_ Kara mused with a snort. The amused smirk quickly dropped from her face as realisation struck her. She had used to her powers to do that. She had used her powers to strengthen her grip, making it strong enough to break a bone—something that the strength of a werewolf could do. What if she could figure out how to throw her powers behind her existing strength? She had done it at the bank vault, too. Her powers had gathered behind her and given her extra force to break through the mountain ash. Kara's pulsed raced with excitement. The possibilities for what she could do seemed endless.

But imagining was the easy part. As Kara practised summoning her powers over the next few hours, she realised that it was going to take a lot of effort to fulfil those possibilities. Not only was it difficult to draw the golden firelight from her body, but she could also feel her strength waning by the minute. Not to mention how emotionally exhausting it was—she wasn't sure how much longer she could keep picturing her mother's face, twisted with agony. Kara could notice the small improvements, though. Eventually, it required less emotion to conjure up a flame of her powers. It started feeling more natural. _The more familiar you become with them, the more natural it will be to summon them,_ Deaton's voice echoed in her mind. She was soon able to produce a ball of golden light in her palm and keep it there for a minute. The effort it took was astounding.

By mid-morning, she had to stop. Body slicked with sweat and head throbbing faintly, Kara collapsed onto a chair and took a deep swig of water. Not even training with Derek left her this tired. Kara winced at the thought of how exhausted she would be after blending her powers and fighting skills when she trained with him. Derek probably wouldn't be happy to know she was using her powers when she still hadn't fully recovered, but she didn't care.

Kara let herself rest for half an hour before immersing herself in her powers again. She worked on producing a shield like the one she had surrounded herself with at the bank vault. Kara had a feeling that it would come in handy sooner rather than later. She needed to be prepared. But shields were much harder to produce than she expected, and by the time midday rolled around she had only managed to create one that didn't flicker and die after a few seconds. Kara groaned, frustrated. She wasn't sure she would be able to learn how to use her powers well enough to defend against whatever strike the Alpha Pack was planning. _Start small_ , Deaton's voice reminded her. _Give it time._

Kara scowled. She didn't have time.

She took a break for lunch and wolfed down her food. It was only when she woke up on the couch did she realise that she had somehow fallen asleep, exhausted from using her powers. Disorientated, Kara swept her gaze across the loft—and found Derek sitting near the window, an amused smile on his face. He must have come back while Kara was asleep. Baulking at the thought that Derek had seen whatever weird face she'd made while she slept, Kara got up from the couch.

"I was practising with my powers," she explained, eyeing Derek's raised eyebrows. It was unlike her to take a nap in the middle of the day.

"How is it going?"

 _No lecture on resting this time,_ Kara mused, thinking back to when she'd tried to use her powers straight after getting back from visiting Deaton. Derek had looked at her like she'd grown three heads and promptly reminded her of Deaton's instructions to _take it easy_. Maybe this time Derek had realised there was no point telling her these things.

A sly grin spread across her lips as a thought popped into her head. "I'll show you."

Kara gestured for Derek to come closer and he complied, genuine interest clear on his face. Kara closed her eyes and reached for her powers. She sensed the crackle of their energy, flickering underneath her scrutiny. She urged them out, focusing on the warmth gathering in her fingertips. _Please let this work_.

Kara envisioned a shield. She placed her palms out and imagined her powers swirling around her, giving them a guide to follow. And they did. Derek let out a small noise of surprise as Kara was shielded from him by a small wall of golden firelight.

Kara's heart thudded with exertion, but she grinned in triumph. Wanting to test her abilities, she urged her shield to extend outwards and envelope Derek as well. He went slack-jawed as they were both encased in a golden, swirling sphere. Kara admired the way it seemed to pulse like it was _alive._ It certainly felt like a living part of her.

She turned her gaze back to Derek, who was grinning at her. The look in his eyes could only be described as awe, and Kara flushed.

"It's a shield," he breathed, more to himself than Kara. "You only figured out how to do this today?"

Kara merely nodded. Speaking required effort, and that was effort she was not able to spare. Maintaining the shield took a lot out of her.

Finally, Kara let it drop. She felt it disappear like she had offloaded a huge weight. She was still unnerved by how much it strained her to use her powers.

Derek eyed her carefully. "Remember what Deaton said about it taking time. Don't be too hard on yourself."

Kara glanced at him, surprised. She wondered how he knew she was thinking along those lines.

Kara walked over to the kitchen and refilled her water bottle. "You know how I told you a while ago that I thought I could make that frequency trick stronger?" she asked Derek without looking at him.

"Vaguely."

Kara cracked a slight grin. "Still up for being my guinea pig?"

"Anything in the name of science," Derek sighed, his voice laced with exaggerated resignation.

Kara snorted, turning to face him. "I might wait until Cora gets home. I want to see if I can focus it on one person."

Derek nodded thoughtfully. "That would be a pretty useful skill to have. Like the shield. If worse comes to worse and you get caught out by the Alpha Pack or the Darach…" Derek trailed off, wincing. Kara didn't need him to finish. She knew that if it did come to that, if she had to face either of those monsters, then she would need her powers. Not to mention a shit load of luck.

* * *

"So we're basically your guinea pigs?"

Kara and Derek shared an amused look at Cora's words. She had arrived home half an hour ago, just before the sound of thunder shattered the peaceful night, and had taken great interest in what Kara was doing with her powers.

"You don't have to if you don't want to—" Kara started, but Cora cut her off.

"No, I'll do it. I want to see what happens," she said, sitting back into the couch and crossing her legs like she was about to watch an entertaining show. Kara suppressed the urge to laugh as Derek rolled his eyes. Cora just shrugged at her brother.

"I want to see if I can use this frequency thing as a weapon, and not just as a way to identify werewolves. I'm also going to try to focus it on one person," Kara explained.

"Hopefully, you won't hear anything Cora, but tell me if you do."

The younger Hale nodded in understanding.

Kara turned her attention to Derek, and the corner of his mouth tipped up into a sly grin that made her insides flutter. "Don't hold back."

"Wasn't planning on it," Kara retorted, preparing to rally her powers. Although she hadn't done it in a while, producing the frequency was a familiar action. She tunnelled deep into her powers and they responded eagerly, seeming to know what she wanted. But that was the easy part—now she had to strengthen it, but narrow it down so that it only affected Derek. She envisioned a circle around him, a guide for her powers. Kara tugged on her powers until she was happy with their strength, and then finally unleashed them.

Kara didn't flinch as Derek fell to his knees with a sharp cry of pain, hands over his ears. She glanced at Cora to make sure that the frequency wasn't affecting her. The girl's face was twisted with discomfort, but she wasn't keeling over with pain. Cora's gaze cut to her brother, who still crouched on the floor with his head in his hands. His breaths were laboured, but Kara's were not. Triumph raced through her. She was able to hold Derek down—and she knew that she could keep the frequency going for longer if she wanted to. But she extinguished it, and Derek let out a gasp of relief.

Cora's face betrayed her relief as well. "I guess it worked, then."

"Did you feel anything?" Kara asked Cora, reaching out a hand to help Derek up. To her surprise, he took it. Grimacing, he rose from the ground. Kara gave him an apologetic smile.

"I could sort of hear it, but the pain was more annoying than harmful," Cora said. Kara took in that information, tucking it away for later. She had a feeling she would need to use the frequency against her enemies—and try not to hurt her friends in the process.

"Thanks for doing that," Kara said quietly, turning to Derek as Cora retreated to her room. "You okay?"

Derek rolled his shoulders as if to shake off some lingering effects of the frequency. "I'm fine. It was worth it—we know it works now."

Kara nodded in agreement and tried to stifle a yawn. Exhaustion chipped away at her. It had been doing so the whole day, and the prospect of a long, deep sleep sounded unbelievably appealing.

So she bid Derek goodnight and flopped into bed, not even bothering to change out of her clothes. She felt herself just starting to drift off when her phone buzzed loudly on the nightstand, jolting her awake. Bleary-eyed, Kara checked her phone. Her stomach dropped as she read the message from Scott.

 _A sacrifice was found at the high school—a cop this time. I'll call you tomorrow._

Another sacrifice. Another innocent life taken. Kara swallowed hard. She would not sleep easily tonight.

* * *

Pushing through the nagging aches in her body, Kara flung out a ball of her powers. It hit Derek square in the chest and sent him flying back, but he managed to land on his feet with cat-like grace. Kara smirked. She knew he wouldn't like it if she told him that.

Derek recovered quickly and advanced towards her. Kara decided not to use her powers to block the punch that came her way. Instead, she twisted and ducked underneath Derek's outstretched arm, then grabbed onto it and drove her fist into his side. Derek let out a grunt of pain. Kara's triumph was short-lived—faster than she could comprehend, he spun her around and pulled her arms behind her. Kara's breath came in laboured pants as he pressed his fingertips against her neck. As if he had claws.

Checkmate.

But Kara wasn't done yet. She threw her head back, and it connected with a satisfying _crunch._ Kara jabbed her elbow into Derek's gut and lurched out of his grasp. She turned to see blood trickling out of his nose, a determined scowl on his face. He did not intend on going easy on her. He wanted her to learn her strengths and weaknesses—what would get her killed in a real fight, and what would not.

Derek aimed a blow at her face. Kara dodged it, but barely had time to recover before another one came her way—and this time it found its target. Kara gasped at the throbbing pain in her gut, the blow leaving her winded. She tried to rally her powers to shield herself, but Derek was too fast. He had her pinned to the ground in a matter of seconds.

"Almost," he said, offering her a hand. Panting heavily, Kara took it and let Derek haul her up. She winced at the tenderness in her limbs.

"You tried to rely too much on your powers, and it took too much time. You might have been able to recover from that punch if you hadn't of tried to use your powers," Derek said, not unkindly.

Kara nodded and eyed the blood crusting under Derek's nose. "Sorry about your nose."

"It's fine." He shrugged. "It'll heal."

They had been training for the last few hours. Kara needed to learn how to use her powers in a fight and thankfully, Derek was happy to spar with her. It helped a lot, but progress was slow. Kara still took too long to summon her powers. It was fine at the beginning of a fight when she had more energy, but as the fight wore on and she grew tired…It got harder and harder to wield them. Kara hoped that she would build up endurance over time.

"I have to go," Derek told her, pulling on a jacket. "I'll see you later."

Kara tried not to let disappointment bleed through her voice as she said goodbye and watched him leave. She was hoping she'd be able to continue sparring with him. Cora was out somewhere as well, meaning she had no one else to train with. No matter—Kara would just work on using her powers on her own. She had to be able to summon them in the blink of an eye if she was going to survive in a fight, and right now that wasn't happening. So Kara called on the ancient power that made her supernatural with steely determination. She would bend it to her will until it broke. Then—and _only_ then—would she allow herself to rest.

* * *

Hours later, Kara stepped out of the shower. Steam covered every square inch of the bathroom like a heavy blanket, but she didn't care. She had needed a long, hot shower after working herself into the ground trying to control her powers. To her relief, she had made a fair amount of progress. The action of summoning her powers was so familiar now that she didn't have to use emotion to draw them out anymore. Kara smiled to herself, almost in a daze. A couple of months ago she never would have dreamed of being able to use her powers to defend herself—to use them for _anything._ And now she was shielding herself with them. She was fighting back.

Kara strode into her room. The sun had begun to set while Kara was in the shower, and orange light now tainted the room. The sight made her pause for a moment. Sunset had always been her favourite time of day. It had been her mother's favourite, too.

Still wrapped in a towel, Kara checked her phone for the time and saw a message notification appear on her screen. It was from Derek.

 _Cora is in hospital. She went after Aiden and got hurt, but she isn't healing._

Shit. _Shit._ The text had been sent almost an hour ago. Kara needed to get to the hospital—fast. She blindly threw on the first set of clothes she could find and raced out of the loft, praying that Cora was alright.

Kara reached the hospital in record time. She got out of the car, ignored her terrible parking job, and jogged up the steps to the entrance. Her mind raced with anxious thoughts. Why wasn't Cora healing? Was she getting worse instead? _Derek would have texted me again if something really bad happened,_ she told herself sternly. It did little to calm the worry that chipped away at her composure.

Kara let out a breath of relief as she spotted Melissa at the reception desk. Scott's mother saw her moments before she reached the desk, and her brows knitted together in confusion at the strained expression on Kara's face.

"Kara? Is everything alright—"

"I need to see Cora Hale," Kara told her, and Melissa's face dissolved into understanding.

"She's in room 119. And she's stable," Melissa added, seeing the stricken look on Kara's face.

"Thank you," Kara said, before hurrying towards the room.

She found it easily and peered into the small window, checking to make sure that Cora was in there. Her breath caught as her eyes landed on Cora's sleeping form. Her head was wrapped in gauze, and Derek sat by her side, holding her hand. Deep frown lines were etched into his face. Kara had never seen him look so worried.

She opened the door slowly, not wanting to startle either of them. Derek's eyes snapped up as she entered and she could have sworn that his shoulders fell with relief.

"How is she?" Kara managed to ask, keeping her voice low. Derek swallowed and his gaze flickered back down to his sister.

"I'm not sure. I don't know what's happening to her," Derek replied, his voice a hollow whisper. Kara ached at the sight of his pain, of Cora's frail body lying on the hospital bed. Two people she cared about more than she liked to admit were hurting, and she didn't know how to help.

Kara cursed inwardly as a loud buzz from her phone interrupted the silence. She hastily fished it out of her pocket and ducked out of the room, not wanting to disturb Cora. Scott's name flashed on the screen of her phone. _This better be good news._

"What?" she hissed, her voice a little sharper than she intended.

Scott didn't seem to care. "It's the Darach. He—or whoever they are—is targeting philosophers. As in teachers."

Kara's blood ran cold. "How many teachers have been sacrificed?"

"Two."

Meaning that the Darach needed one more. Kara ran a hand through her hair. How were they supposed to protect them all?

"The school is putting on this recital to honour the losses, so all of the teachers will be there tonight," Scott explained. _Does that make it easier or more difficult for the Darach to take their next victim?_ Kara didn't know. And it scared her.

But it did mean that they could do something this time.

"Are you at the high school now?" Kara asked, leaning against the wall of the hallway. She glanced back into Cora's hospital room. Derek was still holding on to his sister's hand, the worry clear on his face. The sight hurt Kara's heart.

"Yeah, I'm there now," Scott replied.

"I'll go as well, in case the Darach decides to show up."

A beat of silence, then a sigh too weary to be coming from a seventeen-year-old boy. "Let's hope it doesn't come to that."

They said their goodbyes and Kara hung up. She needed to fly if she was going to make it to the recital. But first—Derek. Kara pushed open the door to Cora's room.

"Scott called," she said, lingering in the doorway. Derek's eyes flickered up to her.

"I heard," he said quietly.

Guilt squeezed Kara's chest. She wanted to be there for Derek and Cora, but at the same time she wanted to help Scott. She worried that she was choosing wrong by going to the high school—what if there was something she could do to help Cora?

"Go," Derek said gently as if he could read her thoughts. "Go help Scott. We'll be fine here."

The urge to ask him if he was sure bubbled up in her throat, but she knew what his answer would be. So why was it still so hard to leave? Kara willed herself to turn and push open the door, but she hesitated with her hand outstretched.

"She'll be okay, Derek," Kara said firmly, spinning around to face him. "We'll find out what's wrong and we'll fix it."

She caught sight of Derek's small, grateful smile before she left the room.

God, Kara hoped she was right.

* * *

It never failed to unnerve Kara how much Beacon Hills High reminded her of her old high school. It was surreal, walking through hallways of lockers and classrooms. She trailed behind a small group of people, not wanting to get lost in the maze of a building. Kara had graduated three years ago but it felt like she had never left high school.

School hadn't been all bad, she mused as she glanced at a science lab. It had been undeniably stressful trying to balance caring for her mother and her schoolwork, but school had been _fun_. She'd had a good friendship group—she had lost touch with them after graduating, but it was probably because they thought she was dead—and she had maintained fairly good grades. Mostly. She hadn't been at the top of the popularity ladder, even after the rumours about her mother's sickness died down. Some people had still found it weird that no one ever saw the inside of Kara's house. She had learned not to let it bother her. Plus, it was only after she graduated that things really started to go downhill. Her mother's condition worsened, and her dreams of going to college were squashed.

Kara tried not to think about it. It was too painful and selfish to think of the life she could have had if her mother had remained healthy. _If Deucalion hadn't of bitten her,_ Kara reminded herself sharply. She hated the resentment that crept into her thoughts when she remembered her mother, because all the years of suffering hadn't been her fault. Deucalion was the one to blame.

Kara pushed those thoughts away as she entered the school hall. It was already almost full, and the musicians on stage looked as though they were about to start playing. Kara scanned the room, looking for Scott. It surprised her how many people had turned up for a school recital—but then again, it wasn't an ordinary recital.

"Hey," a voice said from behind her, and she spun to find Scott smiling tightly at her. Lydia was by his side, her face tense. They both knew what was at stake tonight.

"I take it nothing's happened yet?" Kara asked, searching the room for signs of trouble.

Lydia shook her head. "Not yet."

The three of them moved away from the doorway to stand up the back of the hall. Kara's mouth ran dry as her eyes landed on two people in seats not far from them.

"What are the twins doing here?" She hissed to Scott. "Is Deucalion—"

"I haven't seen Deucalion," Scott said quickly, and relief speared through Kara. "I think he sent the twins here, though."

"To do what?"

It was Lydia who answered her. "They might be here for the same reason we are—to see if the Darach will show up."

Kara frowned. "Why would they care about the sacrifices?"

"Think about it," Lydia said quietly, throwing a glance in the twins' direction. "Whoever is making all these sacrifices is doing it to gain power. We don't know why yet, but Deucalion might feel threatened."

It made sense. Deucalion would want to eliminate anything that even resembled a threat to himself. Either that or he would want to recruit them—but wasn't that still a form of eliminating the threat? If he made his opponent a part of his pack, then he would essentially control them. The thought made Kara's jaw clench in anger. Deucalion wanted that for her. He wanted her powers stifled, under control—under _his_ control.

But he had no idea who he was dealing with.

Sound filled the hall as the musicians began playing. Instruments layered over each other intricately, creating music so beautiful it momentarily distracted Kara from her worries.

A hand came down on Kara's shoulder. She flinched away from it, her mind going back to arms winding around her body and dragging her away. She turned to see Allison standing behind her, hand still outstretched.

"Sorry," she said quickly, dropping her arm. Kara swallowed her embarrassment at her reaction. She'd been grabbed from behind one too many times, and she hated how it affected her.

"What are you doing here?" Kara asked.

"Same as you," Allison replied. "We found one of the teachers who had been taken as a sacrifice. The Darach only needs one more teacher—one more philosopher."

"Do you think they'll try something with so many people around?" Kara said, eyes scanning the hall.

"I'm not sure," Allison admitted.

Kara's gaze flickered to the door, where Isaac and Chris Argent had just walked in. Isaac smiled briefly at her, and Kara's chest constricted painfully at the realisation that she hadn't seen him since the night Boyd had died. She missed seeing both of their faces. Kara locked eyes with Allison's father, who acknowledged her with a slight nod.

Allison's gaze swept between them and she frowned. "You know my dad?"

"We've met," Kara said vaguely. Allison looked like she wanted to say more but she started after Isaac and Chris, who had disappeared from view.

Kara joined Scott's side again, noticing that Stiles was now with him.

"Where's Lydia?" she questioned, looking around for the red-haired teen.

Stiles' eyes widened. "What do you mean where's—?" He stopped himself short, realising that Lydia had in fact disappeared. Stiles started towards the door, Scott following behind with a worried look on his face. Kara knew that it could be nothing, that Lydia going out of their sight for a few seconds shouldn't be cause for alarm, but dread was starting to creep into her bones. People were disappearing left right and centre—and a lot of the time, they didn't make it back. So Kara darted after the two teenage boys without so much as a backward glance.

She caught up with them in the hallway, both Scott and Stiles calling Lydia's name as they searched the school.

"Can you catch her scent?" Kara asked Scott as they moved through the building, half-jogging in their haste.

Scott shook his head. "I'd need something of hers to do that."

Stiles held his phone to his ear. "C'mon Lydia pick up," he mumbled. They burst through the main doors and into the cold night air. Scott scanned their surroundings.

"Anything?" Stiles asked, and Kara's heart started to pound when Scott shook his head.

"She's not answering her phone," Stiles said, his voice taking on a nervous edge. "What do we do, Scott?"

Kara let out a sharp cry of pain as a scream pierced the night. The sound speared through her mind and she clamped her hands over her ears, but it did nothing to drown out the horrible noise. She was dully aware of Scott falling to his knees beside her with a groan, and that she had somehow ended up on the concrete ground. Still, the screaming went on and on, and Kara gasped in pain as the sound tore apart her brain. Then as soon as it had started, it ended. A blissful void opened up in the wake of the noise, and Kara let out a breath of relief.

"It's Lydia," she panted as Stiles helped her up from the ground. She turned wide eyes on Scott, who was straightening up as well. "She's in trouble."

Scott's head whipped around wildly, finding the source of Lydia's screaming. "It came from the English classrooms."

"Go, we'll catch up," Kara urged him, and he took off running.

Stiles and Kara followed behind as fast as they could. Kara panted heavily, hating how much Lydia's scream had debilitated her. They soon lost sight of Scott, and Stiles grabbed Kara's arm to hurry her along. She had no idea where they were going, and it seemed to take forever to reach the other side of the school. They flew through the hallways and passed an endless amount of classrooms, their worry growing with each passing second. What if philosophers didn't have to be teachers? What if they could be students as well? Lydia was smart, Kara knew. And if the Darach had decided that she was an easier target than a teacher…

"We're almost there," Stiles puffed. It was silent in the school, apart from the sound of their quick footsteps hitting the ground. The music had long since faded behind them.

Stiles saw it before Kara did. They rounded a corner and stopped short at the sight that greeted them. An open classroom, but it wasn't empty like the others—Lydia was inside. She had been strapped down to a chair, her face stained by tears and mascara. Kara's eyes shifted to the right, and Jennifer Blake came into view.

Kara's stomach dropped as she put the pieces together. Her. It was her.

Before Stiles and Kara could even react, the teacher somehow pushed a desk towards them. It slammed into the door, barring them from entering.

 _No no no,_ Kara thought as she and Stiles hurled their weight against the door, hoping to move the desk. It didn't budge. Kara peered inside the classroom and dread settled like a heavy stone in her stomach as she spotted two more figures. Scott lay on the ground, blood dripping from his mouth, and there was someone else who looked a lot like—

"My dad is in there," Stiles said, a panicked edge to his voice. He threw himself against the door again. "Do something with your powers, Kara!" he demanded.

But Kara had felt a murmur of panic inside herself as well. Jennifer was slowly walking towards the Sheriff, who knelt on the ground with his gun pointing at her. Kara flinched as a shot rang out—but Jennifer didn't go down. She had been hit, but it was as though it didn't affect her. All that power she had amassed from the sacrifices…Could she even be stopped? Was she that powerful?

"Move," Kara ordered Stiles. The teen complied, stepping back from the door. Kara tried ignore what was going on inside the classroom, even as she saw Jennifer Blake slamming the Sheriff into the stacks of chairs. _Focus,_ she commanded herself. Kara tugged on a strand of power, letting the heat of it fill her body. She thrust out her hands and pushed against the door, feeling her powers act as a battering ram. She almost gasped in relief when the desk slid back. It produced a gap in the doorway just large enough for them to squeeze through, but before they could slip past an enormous crash filled the air.

Kara stumbled into the room after Stiles and looked around wildly. The Sheriff was nowhere to be seen. A window had been shattered and shards of broken glass lay on the floor, glinting in the moonlight. The Darach had taken Stiles' father.

And Kara had not been able to stop it.

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **Hope you all enjoyed this chapter! I can't believe it's been a year since I uploaded the first chapter of this fic, thank you to everyone who has reviewed, followed or even just read my story :) I have heaps of exciting plans that I can't wait to write, so stay tuned for more! Don't forget to leave me a review - I'd love to know what you think of Kara's story.**


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

"What the hell was that, Kara?"

Stiles whirled on her the moment Lydia had been taken away by paramedics. Kara had expected it. She'd sensed the anger simmering from him, the fear driving him to lash out. She understood, of course. Stiles' father had just been taken as a sacrifice.

"You're supposed to be helping us," Stiles continued angrily.

"Stiles—" Scott tried, but his best friend cut him off.

"No, Scott! We made a deal with her that if we helped her, she'd help us, but she can barely even use her powers. And now my dad is paying the price."

Anger surged through Kara, but she swallowed back the urge to snap at him.

"I'm sorry," Kara said, because she didn't know what else to say. Stiles was right. She had failed his dad, and she wasn't upholding her end of the deal.

"We'll get your dad back," Scott reassured his best friend. "But arguing won't help. We need to tell Derek about Ms Blake."

Stiles glared at Kara before striding out of the classroom. Scott shot her an apologetic glance as they followed behind him, but she barely registered it. There was a faint roaring in her ears, and she couldn't tell if it was blood rushing through them or her own thumping heartbeat. All she was sure of was the guilt slowly eating away at her, like a disease. It opened up a deep, aching chasm within her. One more weapon to wield against herself. One more thing to taint her soul. Would the rot ever stop spreading?

Kara shook her head. She didn't have time to think about that. They needed to warn Derek about the Darach—and fast.

"Wait," Kara said, just as they were about to get into Stiles' jeep. Stiles shot her an impatient look, but she ignored it. "How are we going to prove that Jennifer is the Darach?"

"You don't think Derek is going to take our word for it?" Scott asked.

"I'm not sure," Kara admitted. "But I don't want to take any chances. We need proof."

"Like what?" Stiles scoffed.

Scott glanced at both of them, determination clear on his face. "I have an idea."

* * *

Stiles drove them to the Vet, taking sharp turns and speeding a lot faster than necessary. Kara didn't have to be a werewolf to sense the anxiety radiating from him. Scott quickly ducked into the Vet and returned with a small, powder-filled bottle.

"What is that?" Kara asked, wrinkling her nose. How would powder help them prove that Jennifer Blake was the Darach?

"It's mistletoe," Scott explained. "The Darach has been using it with all of her sacrifices, so it must be closely linked to her powers. Deaton said that we might be able to use it against her."

"You mean…she might react to it?"

Scott nodded. "Exactly."

"So what, you're just gonna chuck it on her?" Stiles asked jokingly.

"Yeah," Scott said in a _duh_ tone, blinking obliviously. Kara let her head fall back onto the seat. _We are so screwed,_ she thought with an internal groan.

Mercifully, the rest of the car ride was silent. Kara half-expected Stiles to have another go at her, but he kept quiet. Scott was probably relieved not to have to act as a buffer between them.

Kara scanned the parking lot as they pulled up to the loft. "The teacher isn't here yet," she said, noting the absence of a small red car.

"You think she'll come running to Derek?" Scott asked.

"They are dating," Stiles reminded him, and Kara clenched her jaw at the reminder.

"She'll probably try to get Derek on her side. That might have been why she's dating him," Kara realised. Was it possible that Jennifer was just using Derek? Of course, that way he would never suspect her, Kara thought with disgust. His innocent, English-teaching girlfriend. No wonder she'd been able to hide her true identity for so long.

At least they had the advantage now. Kara just prayed that Derek was home and that they had enough time to explain everything to him before the Darach showed up.

"You guys should probably do the talking," Stiles panted as they climbed up the endless stairs. "Derek isn't exactly my number one fan."

Scott and Kara merely nodded. Kara wondered how they'd start. They couldn't exactly burst in and tell Derek that his girlfriend was the one going around sacrificing people, even if Kara did have a strange desire to do so. She hated to admit it, but she found a dark satisfaction in the thought of exposing the teacher. But Kara knew that it would hurt Derek to realise that he'd been betrayed like that, so she would bury her personal reasons for wanting to reveal the Darach's identity. The only thing that mattered right now was stopping the sacrifices.

Kara slid open the loft door and found Derek standing not even a metre away from her. She made a small noise of surprise and stepped back. His hand was outstretched, as if he'd been about to open the door. He had probably heard them coming.

"What's wrong?" Derek asked quickly, eyes scanning their tense faces. "Did something happen?"

Scott slid an uneasy glance at Kara. "The Darach showed up at the recital. They tried to strangle Lydia, and they took Sheriff Stilinski."

Stiles visibly swallowed at the mention of his dad, and Kara felt a pang of guilt.

"A teacher was poisoned with mistletoe, and she died during the recital," Kara added, thinking back to a text Allison had sent her after they'd left to find Lydia. Derek's shoulders drooped, and he sighed through his nose. Scott glanced at Kara out of the corner of his eye. She knew what he was silently asking—who was going to tell Derek about Jennifer Blake. Kara threw a pointed look back at Scott—she didn't want it to be her—and he shook his head subtly.

Derek narrowed his eyes at them. "What aren't you telling me?"

Kara inhaled reluctantly, preparing to deliver the bad news when Stiles spoke up.

"Your pyscho girlfriend is the one hanging people and slashing their throats," he said bluntly, seemingly unable to restrain himself. _So much for letting me and Scott do the talking,_ Kara thought with a wince.

"What?" Derek demanded, but his eyes had gone to the loft door. He stilled, as if he was listening for something. Or someone.

"She's here, isn't she," Kara said realised. Derek's gaze cut to her, and he nodded.

"We should stay out of sight. See what the human sacrificer has to say for herself," Stiles suggested, and Derek rolled his eyes. He looked like he wanted to protest, but Scott, Stiles and Kara were already moving towards the broken brick wall. They had just concealed themselves behind it when a high, clear voice rung out.

"Derek?"

Pressed against the brick wall, Kara clenched her jaw at the sound of the teacher's voice. She had a feeling that she wouldn't like whatever she was about to hear.

"Derek? Derek where are you?" Jennifer Blake called again, her heels clacking against the floor.

"I'm right here," came Derek's voice.

"Oh thank god," the teacher breathed. "Something happened at the recital, at the school. I need to tell you before you hear any of it from them."

"From who?"

"Scott, Stiles, Kara. They're going to tell you things, things you can't believe. You have to trust me okay, you trust me."

"What is it?" Derek asked. Kara's heart gave a painful squeeze at the tenderness in his voice. It was something she'd only heard on occasion, and to hear it being used so freely with that monster….An ache welled up in Kara's chest, and she folded her arms tightly. She dug her nails into her skin, hoping the pain would focus her.

"Promise you'll listen to me?" Jennifer asked, and the desperation in her voice made Kara's lip curl with disgust. She was a good actor.

"Promise," Derek responded, his voice soft.

There was a beat of silence. "They're already here, aren't they."

It wasn't a question. Jennifer knew they were there. Scott stepped out from behind the brick wall, and Stiles and Kara followed suit.

Kara laid eyes on the teacher— _the Darach,_ Kara reminded herself sharply—standing much too close to Derek for her liking. It struck her how ordinary Jennifer looked, how easily she could have been a normal high school teacher. But Kara remembered the way she had healed from a bullet wound and knocked around the Sheriff like he was a ragdoll. Jennifer Blake was not the innocent flower she appeared to be.

"So?" she said. "They told you it was me? That I'm the one taking people?"

"We told him you're the one killing people," Scott bit out, his jaw twitching in anger. Kara glanced over at Stiles and guilt twisted her stomach at the sight of his glassy eyes.

"Oh, that's right," Jennifer gave a short laugh of disbelief. "Committing human sacrifices? What—cutting their throats? Yeah, I probably do it on my lunch hour. That way I can get back to teaching high school English for the rest of the day—that makes perfect sense."

"Cut the bullshit," Kara snapped. "We saw you take the Sheriff."

"Where's my dad?" Stiles asked, a tear slipping down his face.

Jennifer gaped at them in feigned disbelief. "How should I know?" She turned to Derek, her voice taking on a pleading tone that made Kara want to gag. "Derek, tell me you don't believe this."

Derek's eyes met Kara's and she gave him a grim look.

"Do you know what happened to Stiles' father?" Derek asked Jennifer, his voice losing its previous warmth.

"No," Jennifer insisted. Thunder rumbled outside, and for the first time, Kara noticed that it was storming. Lighting flashed, illuminating the loft. Jennifer's face appeared ghostly white for a second before the room was plunged back into the dim moonlight.

"Ask her why she almost killed Lydia," Scott said.

"Lydia Martin? I don't know anything about that!"

"Then what do you know?" Derek asked, his voice hardened with impatience.

Jennifer's face fell. "I know that these people, for whatever misguided reason, are filling your head with an absurd story." She whipped her head to face them, daggers in her eyes. "And one they can't prove, by the way."

Scott held up the bottle of mistletoe. "What if we can?"

"What is that?" the teacher asked, a note of hesitancy in her voice. Triumph raced through Kara at the sound of it.

"My boss told me it's a poison and a cure," Scott said, unscrewing the lid of the bottle. Derek backed away, sensing that something was about to happen. "Which means that you can use it," Scott continued, "and it can be used against you."

"Mistletoe," Jennifer growled, a second before Scott hurled the contents of the bottle at her.

The effect was instant. Enveloped by a cloud of sand-coloured powder, the teacher's face flickered into a terrifying form—a warped, inhuman mask with rotting teeth and scars disfiguring the skin. The creature shrieked, startling Kara, but then Jennifer's face came back into view. Her smooth features were the real mask, Kara realised. She hid her monstrosity of a face beneath.

Jennifer gasped harshly, and Kara wondered if it hurt to transition to her real form like that. Not that she cared. There was a split second of stilted silence, in which Kara glanced at Derek and saw his shock quickly turn into anger. And as Jennifer lurched towards the door, Kara knew what Derek was about to do.

He had a hand gripping her neck before she could even take two steps.

"Derek wait, wait!" she wheezed as he pulled her back. "You need me!"

Claws appeared at Derek's fingertips. Kara's eyes widened at the sight of them. "What are you?" Derek snarled.

"The only person who can save your sister," Jennifer said in between gasping breaths. Kara exchanged an alarmed look with Scott. Jennifer knew how to heal Cora?

"Call Peter," Jennifer wheezed, still struggling to breathe under the pressure of Derek's grip on her throat. "Call him!"

Still glaring at the teacher, Derek pulled out his phone. Peter answered almost instantly, much to Kara's surprise.

"How is she?" Derek ground out. Peter's reply was lost on Kara's human hearing.

Scott turned to her and Stiles. "She's not good," he relayed quietly after a moment. "She's throwing up black blood and—"

"Mistletoe," Derek said grimly and ended the call. Kara's heart thundered in alarm as Jennifer gasped. Derek dug his fingers into her jaw, and Kara could have sworn she heard a cracking sound. The teacher's mouth gaped open, her features twisted with pain.

"Derek," Scott said in warning. "Derek what are you doing?"

But Derek didn't stop. He was really going to kill her.

"Her life—it's in my hands!" the teacher gasped, an attempt to remind Derek of what he'd lose if he killed her. But her words seemed to fall on deaf ears. Derek lifted Jennifer up by the throat, her legs dangling uselessly in midair. Kara had wanted to see the Darach punished, but this…She hadn't wanted this. Not when Cora and the Sheriff's lives hung in the balance.

"Stop, Derek stop!" Stiles demanded, panic evident in his voice.

"Stilinski," Jennifer wheezed. "You'll never find him."

"Derek," Scott growled when he didn't let the teacher go. "Derek!"

Jennifer let out a strangled gasp, and Derek tightened his grip on her throat. Kara kept expecting him to let her go, to reign in his anger, but the seconds ticked by and he didn't stop. All she could hear was the pounding of her own racing heart and the Darach's panicked gasps. Derek was about to cross a line—except no ground lay on the other side. You couldn't come back from something like that.

"Derek, stop," Kara demanded, and his face tightened at the sound. She thought she'd reached him—but still, he didn't relent.

"Derek," she tried again, hearing the panic in her voice. "Derek if you kill her you lose Cora."

Seconds stretched into hours before Derek finally released his hold on Jennifer, letting her fall to the floor. Kara let out a sigh of relief, but it was short-lived. Jennifer gave a breathy laugh from her position on the ground, a dark curtain of hair shielding her face.

"That's right," she said, looking up at them with a triumphant smirk. "You need me. _All_ of you."

Her words made Kara's insides crawl. Cora's fate rested in this woman's hands—someone who had no real reason to help them at all. Kara locked eyes with Derek and saw the same unease mirrored on his face. Somehow the sight of it made her feel worse, and Kara realised that at some point she'd come to rely on Derek to be the fearless one, to be unshakeable. It was a selfish thing to do, to put him on a pedestal like that. Especially when he was the one with a sister on her deathbed.

* * *

"Stiles, wait up," Kara called out, just as the teen was headed for his car. They had decided to split up and meet at the hospital, Derek taking the teacher in his car. Kara hadn't wanted to endure that awkwardness, so she'd opted to travel with Scott and Stiles. The slightly less painful option.

Stiles spun to face her with an impatient expression, eyebrows raised in question. It was clear that he was still mad at her.

 _All the more reason to say it_ , Kara thought. A million explanations bubbled up in her throat, each one as long as the next. She opened her mouth to explain to him why she hadn't been able to summon her powers quickly enough at the school, but the moment she did, all her thoughts vanished. None of the words she had planned to say seemed right. No explanation would bring back Stiles' dad. Only action would.

"I'm sorry," was what Kara settled for. Stiles' face dropped and the anger was replaced by mere annoyance, as well as a weariness that seemed far too old for a seventeen-year-old boy.

He let out a sigh and rubbed the back of his neck. "It's not—I'm not mad at you. I mean I am," he added hastily, "but not really. It's just…." He blew out a frustrated breath.

"I get it," Kara said, and Stiles gave her a look of gratitude. She knew how much torment Stiles had to be going through, not knowing if he would ever see his dad again. Pain like that brought out the worst in you.

Kara caught Stiles' wrist just as he turned back to his car. He might not have blamed her, but that didn't mean she didn't blame herself.

"I'll get him back. I swear to you, I will," she told him. And she meant it—Kara would be damned if she let another innocent person become a sacrifice. If she didn't hold up her end of the deal and it got people hurt. She'd sworn to help protect Beacon Hills, and she wasn't about to go back on that promise. Not even if it put her life on the line.

Stiles' face hardened, but not with anger this time. Determination sparked behind his eyes. An understanding passed between them as he nodded in acknowledgement of Kara's promise,. They both could have done more to stop Stiles' father from being taken. They wouldn't make the same mistake twice.

So Kara followed Stiles into his jeep, not missing the look that Scott gave her from the passenger seat. He'd obviously heard the conversation that had transpired outside and Kara saw the relief on his face. She smiled to herself in amusement. He was definitely glad not to have to act as a buffer between her and Stiles. Her smile faded quickly as they drove towards the hospital, the realisation of what they had to do sinking in. Get in, get Cora, get out. It sounded simple, but if there was one thing Kara had learned in Beacon Hills it was that these things were never as easy as they sounded.

"Something feels wrong about this," Stiles said as they followed Derek's car, the rain lashing relentlessly at jeep's windows. "We proved it to Derek, but she still had this look like it didn't matter. Like it was all still going according to plan. You saw it didn't you?"

Kara caught Scott's eye in the rearview mirror. He frowned, a hint of unease showing on his face as he considered Stiles' words. He wasn't the only one—Kara's chest had tightened at the prospect of them being played by that wretched teacher. She'd seen the look that Stiles had been talking about, the triumphant expression on Jennifer's face. It had chilled Kara to the bone.

"Then we don't trust her. At all," Kara said. _Like it'll be that easy,_ drawled a voice in the back of her head. Kara clenched her teeth against the reminder that they had no idea if the Darach would betray them or not. If she would save Cora.

They reached the hospital, and Kara braced herself for the rain outside. She jumped out of the safety of the car and was soaked within seconds. Freezing rain battered her frame as she made her way to the hospital entrance, suddenly aware of how her sweater soaked up the water and weighed her down. She spotted Derek and Jennifer through the haze of rain and hurried after them. Kara sensed Scott and Stiles following behind as they all entered the hospital.

Chaos greeted them. People ran in every direction, phones rang incessantly and the lights flickered overhead. Kara narrowly dodged a gurney being wheeled through the hallway and tried not to slip on the water they had trailed in.

"Scott!" a voice called from behind them, and Kara turned to see Melissa McCall running towards them.

"What are you doing here?" she asked her son. "The hospital is evacuating."

"We're here for Cora," Scott explained.

"All of you?" Melissa questioned. She eyed Derek, who kept a firm grip on the teacher's arm, and frowned at her son's best friend. "Why does Stiles have my bat?"

"Mum, just trust me on this, you need to get out of here," Scott told her, urgency evident in his voice. Realisation dawned on Melissa's face, and Kara felt a sense of admiration for the determination that shone through.

"The building is supposed to be clear in thirty minutes. We've got two ambulances that are coming back. One's ten minutes out and one's twenty—Cora needs to be on one of those. They'll be picking up in the basement garage."

"Got it." Scott gave his mum a final glance before they set off to find Cora.

They piled into the elevator, and Kara took up a position against the wall. She folded her arms and noticed with a tinge of satisfaction that Derek still held a tight grip on the teacher's arm. It quickly vanished when Kara remembered the way he had held her throat instead. Would he have really killed her if Kara hadn't of reminded him about Cora? Would he have eventually let go? The look on his face told her no, but Kara refused to believe that Derek would let his anger fuel him to kill someone. She shut down that thought. She couldn't afford to make assumptions like that.

"You don't have to keep me on a leash, Derek. I'm going to help," Jennifer said as if they were stupid. It was an effort for Kara not to snort. Another thing Kara couldn't afford to do was trust the Darach.

Jennifer glanced behind her and was greeted by the sight of Scott, Stiles and Kara glowering at her—Stiles less so than the rest. He held his bat up as if he were ready to strike at any moment. Kara raised an eyebrow at the teacher when their eyes met. _Try something, I dare you,_ Kara wanted to snarl. She reigned in the urge. Derek had enough anger for the both of them, it seemed.

The elevator dinged, signalling their arrival. Derek took the lead, steering Jennifer along with him. They reached Cora's room—but nothing greeted them. No frail body, no Peter sneering at them. The room was empty. Kara's eyes landed on a pool of thick black liquid. _Blood,_ she realised with a start. Cora's blood. Small drops of it formed a trail leading out of the room.

"Derek," Kara said, nodding towards the trail of blood. She followed it with her eyes, and just as she realised the trail continued behind double doors further down the hallway, muffled growls struck the air. Derek's head snapped up, and anticipation built in Kara's stomach. Who was fighting behind those doors?

Kara didn't have to wonder for long. The doors burst open and a body slid towards them, coming to a halt right at Derek's feet.

"We've got a problem," Peter said, hissing in pain from the floor. "Big problem."

Kara looked up, and fear stabbed at her like a hot poker. Merely meters away stood the twins, who had merged together to form one hulking mass. The mega-werewolf roared, and the sound reverberated in Kara's chest. How the hell were they going to get past _that_?

A low growl sounded next to Kara, and she realised that Derek had shifted as well. She watched with wide eyes as he advanced on the twins, who had started running towards them. Derek let out a roar just before they collided. Kara's stomach rose up into her throat when he tackled the mega-werewolf around the middle and forced it back. They traded blows, each one as deadly as the next, but it wasn't a fair fight—Derek was being overpowered.

Kara wasn't the only one who realised it. Before she could comprehend what was happening, Scott charged at the twins, swiping at them with a ferocity that made Kara's stomach clench. Her eyes fell on Derek, who had been thrown to the ground. She forced down the panic that rose up inside her. What were they supposed to do? Not for the first time, she wished she had claws and heightened strength. She wished she could fight. _But you can fight,_ a small voice reminded her. Kara's eyes watered. It was her mother's voice. _You might not be able to do it like them, but you can still fight._

"Kara," Stiles said, and she followed his gaze to where Cora lay on the other side of the fighting werewolves. Peter noticed it too, and he and Stiles ran to slip past the werewolves. Kara was just about to follow them when she spotted a slim figure vanishing out of the corner of her eye. Anger surged through her as she spun to see Jennifer Blake retreating towards the safety of the elevator. She was escaping—she'd betrayed them, leaving Cora to die.

Kara didn't think. She just ran.

She was vaguely aware of someone shouting her name as she slid between the metallic doors of the elevator, but she didn't turn back. The wide, startled eyes of the Darach greeted her. There was a moment of stilted silence after the doors clanged shut, but it ended when Kara launched herself at the teacher, blind with rage.

"I can explain!" Jennifer gasped as Kara gripped her shoulders and slammed her against the wall.

"Like hell you can! You were trying to escape."

They both fought for the upper hand as they went crashing down to the floor, Kara surprised by the strength in the teacher's small frame. Jennifer flailed wildly underneath Kara, who had pinned her to the floor. Kara flinched back as a hand struck out, but she wasn't fast enough to avoid the nails that raked down her neck. She dug her knee into the teacher's arm, gritting her teeth against the stinging sensation on her neck. Jennifer had broken the skin.

"You said you'd heal Cora," Kara panted, finally able to pin the Darach down. She must have realised that she wasn't going to escape because she stopped frantically writhing.

Breath coming in short gasps, she choked out, "the twins—they would have taken me. I had to escape. I would have come back for Cora."

Kara scoffed angrily. "Is that before or after she died because you were too busy trying to save your own ass?"

"I had to protect myself. Put it this way—if I die, Cora dies too."

Fear stabbed through Kara and she clenched her jaw. She was right. As far as they knew, Jennifer was their only chance at saving Cora. Would they have enough time to go searching for another option if the Alpha Pack killed Jennifer? Of course, she already knew the answer to that. Cora didn't have much time left.

Sensing Kara's realisation, triumph sparked behind Jennifer's eyes. Still winning, even though it seemed she'd been beaten. Stiles had been right as well—everything was still going according to the Darach's plan. They were doing everything she expected them to.

Kara leaned in closer, putting more weight on the arm pressed against the top of Jennifer's sternum.

"Put it this way," Kara said, her voice sinking dangerously low. "If Cora dies, you die too."

Fear flashed in Jennifer's eyes. _Good,_ Kara thought scathingly. Let her be afraid.

"I won't run again," Jennifer said, her voice steady. Kara didn't budge.

"I don't have a reason to," she continued. "As long as I'm protected."

Annoyance clawed its way up Kara's throat as she understood what Jennifer was hinting at. Clever of her, the two-faced snake. She was backing Kara into a corner.

"You want to make a deal," Kara said, still not taking her weight off Jennifer's body.

"More like you _need_ me to make a deal with you. Cora doesn't seem to be in good shape, does she?" Jennifer goaded her. Kara kept her face blank, even as anger threatened to flood her. Sighing at the lack of reaction, Jennifer laid out her terms. "If you all get me out of the hospital alive, I'll heal Cora."

Kara pretended to think it over—as if she had a choice. As if she had a different way to heal Cora. As if the younger hale wasn't dying while Kara deliberated.

"Fine. But if Cora wasn't sick and the Sheriff wasn't missing, I'd let Deucalion rip you to shreds," Kara deadpanned, finally releasing her grip on the teacher. Jennifer winced as she rose from the ground, but the sound was lost on Kara as she studied the floor levels and pressed a random one. There was a chance the twins were still on the same floor and Kara had no intention of running into them.

"I don't think you would," Jennifer said knowingly.

Kara slowly turned to face her. "And why is that?" she asked, voice dripping with sarcasm.

The teacher regarded her with softened features. "Because he hurt you too."

Kara's face dropped. Alarm bells went off inside her head and Kara felt her body stiffen. _Shut this conversation down,_ a voice urged her.

"You don't know anything about that," she said coldly.

"I don't know much," Jennifer admitted, "but I know that Deucalion took something from you. He took away your chance at a normal life, at being a regular kid. He took away your mum."

Kara refused to look at her. _She's trying to get inside your head,_ an insistent voice reminded her.

"Did you know I used to be Kali's emissary? She tried to kill me, just like she killed everyone else in her pack. Just so she could take their power for herself and be a part of Deucalion's little collection of Alphas," Jennifer continued. Kara didn't let her shock register on her face. Jennifer had been Kali's emissary? She knew the teacher had to have had some connection to the Alpha Pack, but she never expected it to be that strong.

"How many other people do you think Deucalion has harmed? Do you really think it was just you and your mum? How many other people's lives have been destroyed because of that monster, because of—"

"Don't you talk about monsters. You're no better than him or Kali," Kara seethed, just as the elevator doors slid open.

Jennifer stepped forward, eager to be out of close quarters with Kara. She realised her mistake too late. Two figures rounded the corner at the other end of the hall, and Kara's stomach lurched. Deucalion and Kali. Before Kara could shout at Jennifer to get back in the lift, Deucalion angled his lethal cane and threw it towards them. Kara flinched away as it lodged itself into the wall. Right next to Jennifer's head.

The teacher quickly backed into the lift as Kara frantically pressed the second-floor button. With a snarl, Kali broke into a run. They weren't going to make it, Kara realised as the lift doors started closing ever so slowly. The panicked thud of her heartbeat drowned out everything else as Kali reached the lift and pried open the doors with clawed hands. Kara's eyes widened in horror as the alpha opened up a gap almost wide enough for her to squeeze through. Death had always been a real possibility in Beacon Hills, but it had never _seemed_ real to Kara. Now she was staring it in the face.

Then Jennifer did something strange.

Kara almost shouted at the teacher to get back as she stepped away from the lift wall, but her voice died as the scene before her unfolded. Jennifer struck the metal doors with her raised palms. A shudder tore through the lift and Kara watched in amazement as Kali went flying backwards with the force of Jennifer's powers. The lift doors shut and Kara gave a breathy laugh of relief. Jennifer backed up against the lift wall with her eyes closed, panting heavily.

"Why do you need our help if you can protect yourself?" Kara asked after the panic had faded from her system.

Jennifer's eyes snapped open. "Using my powers is draining. I don't have enough energy to use them all the time."

 _Can't imagine what that would be like,_ Kara thought sardonically, but she didn't say it out loud. The less Jennifer knew about her the better.

The elevator stopped at the second level. Kara cautiously peered out into the hallway as the doors slid open, but it was empty. No sign of the twins or Deucalion. So Kara and Jennifer started down the hallway, listening for any indications as to what might lurk around each corner. It was eerily quiet, and Kara's frayed nerves weren't helped by the fact that the lights kept flickering above them. There was a crackling sound and a distant banging noise, then the lights went out. Alarm rose in Kara as the world turned pitch-black, but then lights illuminated the hallway once again—except this time they were dimmer, giving the walls a greenish glow. Kara shivered. Even though she knew that creepy lights didn't mean danger, it still unnerved her. She was almost glad to be walking with Jennifer. Almost.

"You know Derek might not like this deal," Kara warned the teacher as they rounded a corner.

"I know. But I'm not worried about that."

Unease swirled in Kara's stomach. "Why?"

"Because you agreed to it. And that's what will convince Derek."

Kara scoffed and shook her head at the boldness of Jennifer's statement. "And how could you possibly know that?"

Jennifer glanced around a corner before they turned and threw her a knowing glance. "Don't play dumb."

"I am _not_ having this conversation with you right now."

"I'm not trying to get inside your head, Kara," Jennifer insisted, despite the glare she was receiving from the blond. "When I was with him, I felt him pulling away—"

"I don't want to hear this."

"—and it didn't take me long to find out why. I'd suspected it, but seeing him with you tonight...It had always been you. I don't think he even knew he was distancing himself from me—it was more like an involuntary reaction."

Kara shook her head. She refused to believe anything spilling out of Jennifer's mouth, any of the lies that she'd spent ages trying to rid herself of. Even if some part of her ached at the possibility of them being the truth.

 _Not a possibility,_ Kara snarled at herself. Why was she so torn up about this now? Derek should be the least of her worries. Especially when Cora was dying and the Sheriff was tied up somewhere. Kidnapped by the person that Kara was currently discussing her problematic feelings with.

The thought was enough to send anger coursing through her veins. It was an effort to keep walking, to not whirl on Jennifer and take her down. She reminded herself of Cora, that she needed their help and that they had to hurry—

"Derek cares about you, Kara. Why do you hate yourself so much that you can't even fathom that?"

"Because it would never last!" she exclaimed, forgetting to keep her voice low. "Because he'd stop caring as soon as he found out the truth about what kind of person I am, okay? Is that what you wanted to hear?"

Jennifer opened her mouth to reply, surprise evident on her face, but shut it when the faint murmur of voices reached them. Kara stilled, momentarily forgetting the emotions that had swelled up inside of her. Was it a friend or foe speaking?

Kara didn't have to wait long for the answer. As she ventured further along the hallway, the voices became louder, and soon she recognised Scott's voice. She breathed a sigh of relief as she spotted a set of double doors. They must be hiding in there, away from the twins. The two women cautiously crept towards the room.

"Has to be something...we have to help her." Kara could only just make out Scott's voice from inside the room. Jennifer strode towards the doors and pushed them open without warning.

"You can't," she told them, as Kara slipped in behind her. She looked at their faces with relief, not having enjoyed being separated from Derek and the others. Except maybe Peter. She locked eyes with Scott and saw some of her relief mirrored on his face.

"Only I can," Jennifer continued. "I can save her and I can tell you where Sheriff Stilinski is. But there is a pack of alphas in this hospital who want me dead. So I'll help you, but only when I'm out of here and safe. Only then."

There was a loud bang as Derek knocked over a table and lunged towards Jennifer, but was held back by Scott.

"Derek, wait," the teen insisted.

"She was trying to get out!" Derek seethed.

Jennifer narrowed her eyes. "I was trying to keep from getting killed. You can't blame me for that."

"If you want to show that you're one of the goods guys then heal her," Stiles said.

Jennifer shook her head. "Not until I'm safe."

"I'd like to volunteer a different method of persuasion," Peter offered. "Let's torture her."

"Works for me," Derek growled, but Kara stepped forwards.

"Derek," she said, and he looked at her for the first time since she entered the room. His eyes widened as they latched onto her face—onto the shallow scratches that ran from her jawbone down to her neck. Kara bit her lip as she watched Derek's face tighten with anger. He'd realised who had scratched her. Derek pushed Scott's arm away as if to lunge at Jennifer again, but Scott held him back.

"Stay away from her," Derek warned the teacher, who merely side-eyed Kara with her brows raised as if to say, _see?_ Kara ignored her. She didn't have time to think about that.

"I don't like this either, okay?" Kara said, addressing them all. "But every second we waste reduces our chance of saving Cora."

A crackling noise sounded from above them, and for a moment Kara thought the lights were going out again. But then a voice sounded from the loudspeaker and dread settled like a stone in Kara's stomach.

"Um, c-can I have your attention. Mr Deucalion—excuse me, just Deucalion—requests you bring the woman calling herself Jennifer Blake to the ER reception. Do this, and everyone else can go. You have ten minutes."

It was Melissa, and her breathy, panicked voice suggested that she was not in a good situation. Fear for his mum shone through on Scott's face.

"He's not going to hurt her," Jennifer started.

"Shut up," Derek said.

"He won't," Jennifer said more forcefully, then turned her focus back to Scott. "You know why. Tell them it's true."

 _A trick_ , said a defensive voice in Kara's head. A ploy to get them on her side. But what was she trying to use as bait?  
"What does she mean?" Derek asked Scott, echoing Kara's thoughts. The teen remained silent.

Jennifer sighed in exasperation. "You're not the only one he wants in his pack. Deucalion doesn't just want an Alpha Pack, he wants perfection. That means adding the rarest of alphas to his ranks."

"A true alpha," Peter realised, looking up at Scott. "The kind that doesn't have to steal his power from another, one that can rise by the force of his own will. Our little Scott."

The words dredged up a memory in Kara's mind. It was of that horrible night that Derek had almost fallen to his death, where Kara had sworn she'd seen Scott's eyes turn red. At the time she thought her eyes had been playing tricks on her. Now she realised it was a sign of his true nature—an alpha.

Scott shook his head. "It doesn't matter. We still need to get her out of here."

"Scott your mum—" Stiles started, but Scott cut him off.

"My mum," he said, evidently fighting not to choke on the words, "said that there's one more ambulance coming in twenty minutes and I don't think we've been here that long. So if we can get down to the garage and get to the last ambulance we can get out of here."

"Sounds simple," Kara muttered.

"The twins aren't just going to let us walk out," Peter reminded them.

"I'll distract them," Scott said, and Kara frowned. How was he going to distract the mega-werewolf enough for them to sneak past?

"You mean fight them," Derek said.

"Whatever I have to do."

Kara's stomach knotted at the thought of Scott going up against the twins alone, and it hurt her even more to know that he'd do it without even hesitating. Even when it put his life on the line.

"I'll help you," Derek told him, a silent understanding passing between them.

"I'm sorry but I'm not going anywhere without you Derek," Jennifer piped up, and the sound of her voice made Kara grind her teeth.

"I'll do it," Peter volunteered, much to her surprise. "But I'd prefer to be out there with an advantage."

"An advantage—like what? You mean like a weapon?" Stiles asked.

An idea formed in Kara's head. "Me. I'm your advantage."

Every head turned towards her. Everyone except for Derek frowned, because as far as they knew Kara had little control over her supernatural abilities. They hadn't seen her training for hours on end—the shields she created, drawing her powers out over and over again. It would be enough for what she was planning. It had to be.

"What can you do?" Jennifer asked, frowning.

Kara smirked at her. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

The teacher narrowed her eyes, clearly annoyed by not knowing everything.

Kara turned to Peter, who raised his eyebrows. He wasn't convinced either.

"I can weaken the twins while you and Scott attack them," she explained.

Peter glanced at Scott, who nodded. The teen trusted her. Kara wasn't sure whether she was grateful or scared.

"You better know what you're doing," Peter said in warning.

Kara locked eyes with Derek, who had a strange—almost _amused_ —expression on his face. "Trust me, she does," he told Peter, and Kara could tell he was thinking back to when she'd tested her powers on him.

"We'll need to distract them long enough to make sure you guys—" Kara nodded to Stiles, Derek and Jennifer, "—can get past. I can't weaken the twins for long, so I want the element of surprise. I'll walk out behind Scott and Peter, make them the focus. The twins won't expect me to use my powers against them."

Kara saw Jennifer's eyes widen slightly. _She had no idea I'm supernatural,_ Kara realised with a start. Strange, considering she seemed to know everything.

Scott nodded in agreement, and him, Peter and Kara crept towards the door. Scott pressed his ear against the wall to avoid being seen through the glass and frowned in concentration. "They're still there," he said after a moment. "Sounds like they might be at the end of the hallway."

Meaning that they hopefully wouldn't be ambushed as soon as they stepped outside. Kara took a deep breath, suddenly feeling the weight of what they were about to do. Nerves sent her stomach churning. Would she be strong enough to weaken them? Derek had been different—he held the power of one alpha. With the twins in their mega-werewolf form...Kara would be dealing with twice the power.

Scott and Peter shifted themselves to face the door, with Kara standing a few metres behind them. She felt a hand grab her wrist. She turned to face Derek, who was looking at her with an unreadable expression. He seemed to be searching for something to say.

"Be careful," was what he settled for, and all Kara could do was nod. She was afraid that if she spoke all of her fears would come tumbling out.

 _You've got this,_ she told herself sternly. _You've done it before and you can do it again._

So Kara steeled herself and tunnelled down deep into her powers, into the essence of what made her supernatural until she felt her fingertips crackle with energy. Scott looked back at her, silently asking if she was ready.

"Now," she whispered, and they stormed into the hallway.

Adrenaline chased the fear away as Kara stared down the twins. Her body thrummed with power, and she drew strength from the reminder that she wasn't defenceless.

"Alright boys, let's rumble," Peter said. That was her cue. Peter and Scott advanced on the twins, and Kara unleashed her powers.

She focused on directing all of her energy on the twins as they merged into one body. She tried not to let her nerve falter as the great hulking form snarled, and formed a zone around them in her mind so that the frequency from her powers wouldn't affect Scott or Peter. The mega-werewolf growled as the sound hit and clamped his hands over his ears. Kara almost gasped in relief. It was working.

Peter seized the opportunity to tackle the twins, and they went crashing down to the ground. Growls filled the air as Peter swiped at the mega-werewolf with his claws, and Scott joined in as reinforcement. The twins weren't completely crippled by the frequency—not like Derek had been. They were just powerful enough to fight back. Kara felt the strain building in her body as she used up more and more of her energy to keep the frequency going. Her legs shook with the effort, and suddenly she felt her powers falter. Panic surged through her as the mega-werewolf threw Peter against the wall with a sickening thud.

"Kara go!" Scott yelled, still trying to take on the twins. He pushed them over to one side of the hallway, clearing a path for Kara to escape.

She didn't waste the opportunity. Kara sprinted to the other side of the hallway, where Peter was slowly pulling himself off the ground.

"C'mon," Kara groaned as she tugged on one of his arms. Scott couldn't hold off the twins for long. Peter finally stood up, and Kara whipped around to find Scott being held up against the wall by this throat. She drew on whatever power she had left and sent a surge of the frequency towards the mega-werewolf. Knees threatening to buckle, Kara let out a cry and intensified the frequency, narrowing it to a point aimed straight at the head of their enemy. The mega-werewolf crumpled, releasing its hold on Scott. The teen scrambled over to Kara and Peter, and the three of them didn't hesitate before taking off.

Weakened by using her powers, Kara panted heavily as they ran through hallways. She struggled to keep up with the two werewolves in front of her, but fear kept her going. She knew that the twins weren't far behind.

They rounded another corner, and Peter collapsed against the wall. It seemed he still hadn't regained all of his strength after being resurrected from the dead. Kara and Scott pulled him up and supported his weight.

"We can't keep running like this," Kara gasped. "They'll eventually catch up."

"In here." Scott motioned towards a room near the end of the hallway. He and Kara ran awkwardly with Peter between them. Scott kicked open the door of the room and they piled into it.

Relief washed over Kara as Scott shut the door, and she fought to even out her breathing.

"Those twins are really starting to piss me off," Peter said through gritted teeth.

"How the hell are we supposed to get past them?" Scott asked.

"Personally I think if we keep letting them beat the living crap out of us, they'll tire and give up," Peter suggested, and Kara rolled her eyes.

"Try something that doesn't get us killed," she said. Scott's eyes latched onto something just past Kara's head. She followed his gaze and spotted a laundry chute behind her.

"Who wants to go first?" Peter asked, understanding what Scott was planning. Scott and Kara side-eyed each other but said nothing.

"You lot are so predictable," Peter sighed before opening the chute. He clambered into it and disappeared from view. Scott went next, somehow managing to gracefully swing himself into the chute.

"Scott maybe you should wait a minute before—" Kara started, but he was already gone. Scott would probably squash Peter at the bottom—not that she was all that concerned with Peter's wellbeing. She sighed and glanced back towards the door. As much as she hated the idea of sliding down a laundry chute, she knew it was her only chance to escape the twins. So Kara gingerly climbed into the small opening and lowered herself in as far as possible without letting go. Bracing herself for the narrow tunnel and cursing the stupid alpha twins for forcing her to escape like this, Kara released her grip. Her stomach flipped as she slid through complete darkness, and she felt a scream rise in her throat as she dropped into a pile of something soft. It was a huge basket of sheets, she realised once she could think straight again.

A hand appeared to help her out of the basket. She took it gratefully, glancing up at Scott before she climbed out.

"Never again," she said, and Peter nodded in agreement. He sent a reproachful look at Scott, and Kara fought the urge to snort. It seemed he had been squashed by Scott after all.

"Derek and Jennifer are trapped in the elevator," Scott said.

Kara's stomach dropped. "What do you mean 'trapped'?"

"The power went out," Peter explained, motioning for them to hurry out of the room. "Stiles and Cora made it to an ambulance, but Kali has the keys," Scott said as they broke into a run. Peter lagged behind, his breath coming in sharp wheezes.

"I'm not sure I can fight the twins again," he gasped, holding his side. Kara and Scott glanced at each other. Would they be able to walk away from a fight with the twins again?

"Then we'll go to the ambulance," Scott said.

"But Derek and Jennifer—" Kara protested.

"They're safe for now," he reassured her. So they kept running, and Kara was almost grateful for the burn in her legs. It was a welcome distraction from the scenarios her worried mind conjured up.

Thankfully, the garage soon came into view. Peter stopped suddenly and he doubled over with his hands on his knees.

"Almost there," Kara said as she and Scott manoeuvred his arms around their shoulders. _Jesus, he's heavy,_ Kara thought as her body trembled with the effort of holding him up. They reached the ambulance, and it was all Kara could do not to drop Peter. Stiles' pale face appeared behind the glass, and he opened the doors with a relieved expression.

"Help us get him in," Scott instructed, and Stiles reached forwards to pull Peter into the ambulance. Kara spotted Cora's pale form on a gurney and sighed in relief. They still had time to save her.

"Where's Derek and Jennifer?" Stiles asked.

Scott shook his head. "We have to go back for them and my mum."

"Okay well there are two problems—Kali has the keys to this thing and I just saw the twins like thirty seconds ago."

Kara glanced behind her, half expecting the mega-werewolf to appear around the corner. She eyed Scott. They had to keep moving.

"Stay here," he told Stiles, then followed Kara back into the hospital.

Kara's mind returned to the eeriness of the dim hallways now that they were no longer running. They had realised that running would risk attracting the twins—especially since they knew the two alphas were close.

Scott stopped suddenly, and she almost crashed into his back.

"What is it?" she asked, but the teen didn't reply. He went completely still and frowned in concentration—as if listening for something. Kara didn't even have time to scream before she was knocked to the ground. She gasped as her head smacked against the floor, and stars burst into her vision. Growls filled the air. The twins—they'd found her and Scott.

 _Scott,_ she thought desperately, just as she fell into the thick haze of darkness.


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

"Kara, wake up. We have to go."

The voice tugged the blanket of blissful ignorance from her, and Kara desperately tried to pull it back. She wanted nothing more to sink back into the sleep that had chased away her worries. Her head throbbed. She couldn't remember what had caused it, but then the realisation of where she was struck her and she lurched upright with a gasp. The alpha twins. Her skull slamming into the ground. Growls filling the hallway.

Kara looked around wildly and her eyes fell on Scott. She heaved a sigh of relief, and another figure appeared in her vision.

"Melissa?" she asked sluggishly as the woman crouched down to inspect Kara's head. How had Scott's mother found them? Melissa sent an anxious glance behind her, and Kara followed her gaze.

She scrambled back at the sight of the twins writhing on the floor.

"How—what happened?" she spluttered, fear stabbing at her.

Melissa shook her head. "They won't be down for long. We have to move."

"We'll explain on the way," Scott promised as he pulled Kara to her feet. White spots burst before her vision, and she swayed slightly. Scott looped one of Kara's arms around his neck to help support her weight, and she was suddenly reminded of them doing the same for Peter. It felt like an age since they'd gone back into the hospital after leaving Peter in the ambulance when in reality it couldn't have been more than ten minutes. Anxiety washed over her at the reminder that Cora was still in that ambulance as well, fighting for life. None of them really knew how much time she had left. The only thing that kept Kara from spiralling into panic was the knowledge that Jennifer had no way of escaping—at least, not without getting herself killed.

Kara's head throbbed painfully as they hurried away from the twins. It was an effort to stay steady on her feet. She tried to fill in the gaps in her memory with what she could remember—she and Scott had gone back into the hospital but were ambushed by the alpha twins. They had knocked Kara out, leaving Scott to fight them alone. Kara wondered how Scott had subdued the twins and how Melissa had found them, but she decided to save her questions for later. It didn't seem like the right time to ask them—not while they were half-running through the hospital hallways.

They pushed open a set of doors and Scott slowed to a walk, confident that the twins were far enough behind them to not be an immediate threat. Kara followed suit, alleviating the pounding in her head that had come with each heavy footstep.

"Was I out for long?" Kara said, her breath coming in uneven pants.

Scott shook his head. "Barely a minute."

"How did you get away from Deucalion?" Scott asked, facing his mother as they turned down another corridor.

"He just let me go, said it was a gesture of goodwill—no other reason," Melissa replied, her voice slightly high-pitched. Kara understood her fear. Deucalion was unpredictable; the exact opposite of someone like Kali. With her, at least you knew to expect a fight. But with Deucalion...each move was carefully calculated, all part of a detailed plan. Some things were worse than a fight.

Scott frowned, unease clear on his face. "He had to have a reason—I don't think he does anything without a reason."

"Well if it means I should continue to be profoundly terrified then don't worry, I've got that covered."

"We won't let Deucalion take you again," Kara told her firmly.

Scott paused abruptly, holding out an arm in front of Kara and Melissa to motion for them to stop. Kara held her breath as he crept forwards. If the twins had found them again...

Scott rounded the corner, but instead of leaping out to attack he sagged with relief. Sensing that it was a friend and not a foe, Kara and Melissa stepped into view. The sight of Chris, Allison and Isaac greeted them, and Kara felt some of the tension leave her body. Two werewolf hunters and a werewolf—maybe they stood a chance, after all.

* * *

"Sit down," Melissa ordered her as they all piled into an examination room. "I need to make sure you didn't seriously injure yourself."

"I'm fine," Kara said distractedly, but she let Melissa guide her to a chair. All her attention was on Scott, Chris, Allison and Isaac, who were discussing how they could free Derek and Jennifer without the Alpha Pack's knowledge.

"There's no way of getting them out without turning the power back on," Isaac explained to Chris. "But if we turn it back on then they'll hear the elevator moving."

"And they'll be on Derek and Jennifer as soon as it stops. We can't get in a fight with them," Scott said, his eyes meeting Kara's. She knew he was thinking about their narrow escape with the twins.

Kara hissed in pain as Melissa pressed lightly on the side of her head.

Melissa pulled back her hand with an apologetic look. "You've got a pretty nasty bump on the side of your head. If I just had some ice to help with the swelling..."

Kara waved her hand half-heartedly to let Melissa know that it was okay. Sensing that Scott's mother had finished with her examination, Kara rose from her chair and joined the others.

"You have us now," Chris said. Allison glanced at Kara, her eyebrows raising in question.

 _Later,_ Kara mouthed, assuming that the brunette wanted to know what had happened to her.

Scott shook his head. "It's too much to risk. They want her dead, and if she dies then there's nothing we can do for Stiles' dad or Cora."

Chris sighed in frustration. "I don't even think I know which teacher this is."

"She's the one with the brown hair. She's kind of hot," Isaac spoke up. Everyone's head snapped up at his words.

"It's just an observation," he added hastily.

Chris sighed again, and Kara had the strange, almost maniacal urge to laugh. God, what a mess they were in—it almost seemed comical. _Get a grip,_ Kara told herself, clearing her head of the delirious state that threatened to overwhelm her. She was tired, hungry, and her head felt like it had been invaded by jackhammers, but Derek needed her. Cora, Stiles' father—all those lives would be lost if they couldn't rescue Jennifer Blake. So when Allison announced that she had an idea, Kara listened as if her life depended on it. Maybe it did.

* * *

Minutes later, Kara was sitting in Chris Argent's car with Isaac in the driver's seat. He'd parked it outside the hospital, near where deliveries came in. Kara glanced around the parking lot every so often, half-expecting Kali or the twins to appear. She kept going over Allison's plan in her mind—partly so that she wouldn't forget it and partly to give herself something to think about other than what would happen if they failed. Kara sighed quietly, massaging her throbbing head. It hurt her to think of Cora lying in the ambulance, barely clinging to life. Stiles' dad held hostage somewhere they couldn't find. Derek still stuck in the hospital. It was sad that a place meant for healing so often became a death trap.

"What happened to your head?" Isaac spoke up.

"The twins happened," Kara grumbled, too weary to give a full explanation. Thankfully Isaac didn't question it further. She was just about to ask him about everything Allison had told him to do when a buzz sounded. Isaac pulled out his phone and answered the incoming call. Allison's face appeared on the screen, and Kara felt a trickle of relief at the sight of her. If there was anyone that could pull this off, it was the Argents.

"You ready?" Allison asked him.

"Yeah."

"Not nervous are you?"

Isaac raised his eyebrows. "Do I look nervous?"

"No, not at all," Allison said after a moment of hesitation. She placed her phone down on the floor so that they had a view of one of the hospital hallways close to the entrance.

"Did he look nervous?" came Chris' voice.

"Terrified," his daughter replied.

Kara smiled, amused. Isaac retorted, "I can still hear you. Very, very clearly."

Allison appeared again. "Just go as soon as you see them, okay?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I got it," Isaac said, and with that, the call ended.

They waited for a tense minute, eyes trained on the screen of Isaac's phone for any flicker of movement. A figure with dark hair whipped past the screen. _Allison,_ Kara realised a split second before the twins came into view.

"Go!" Kara urged Isaac, but he didn't need to be told twice. Tires screeching, he peeled out of the parking lot and sped towards the ambulance bay. With the twins and Kali drawn out by the Argents, they would be able to get Cora out of the ambulance without running into one of the alphas. _Deucalion is still unaccounted for,_ a voice in the back of Kara's head whispered. She ignored it. There was nothing they could do about it now. They would just have to risk it.

Kara and Isaac leapt out of the car as soon as they pulled up next to the ambulance.

"C'mon!" he urged Stiles and Peter, the latter of whom was carrying Cora's limp body. They piled her into the car and shut the door. Kara glanced around anxiously, making sure the coast was clear.

"Stiles, let's go!" Kara hissed at the teen. He stared at something on the door of the ambulance and, without warning, took off into the hospital.

"Stiles! Kara—don't!" Isaac yelled as she started after him.

"He's going to get himself killed!" Kara told Isaac. "Just go. I'll find the others."

"Kara—"

"Go!"

Kara barely registered the throbbing in her head as she ran after Stiles. He'd already disappeared from view, but Kara had a good idea of where to look first—the elevator, where Derek and Jennifer had been. God, why had Stiles gone back into the hospital? Dread was building underneath her skin. Something wasn't right. Kara flew around another corner and spotted the elevator ahead. A body was sprawled inside it. She could only make out dark clothing from the other end of the hallway, but somehow she _knew._ And with each lurching step towards his body, she prayed with every fibre of her being that he was alive. Dimly aware that Jennifer was nowhere to be seen, Kara fell to her knees by Derek's body. His face had been leeched of colour. A million different questions raced through her mind. How had he ended up like this? _Please, please be alive_ , Kara prayed as she fumbled for his wrist. Fear opened up a gaping chasm in her heart when nothing thrummed beneath his skin, but then she felt it. His pulse was faint, but it was there _._ Kara let out a choked laugh of relief, and tears welled in her eyes.

"Damn you," she said to his unconscious form, briefly allowing her head to drop onto his chest. It didn't seem real unless she could hear his heart beating. She allowed herself to stay like that for a moment longer before she forced herself to straighten up. Wiping at a stray tear, Kara gripped Derek's shoulders.

"Derek," she said, shaking him. "We need to go."

She tried again, digging her fingers hard enough into his shoulders to make her worried when he still didn't stir. What if this was more than simply being knocked unconscious? What if Jennifer had done something to keep him from waking like she had kept Cora from healing? Fury rose up inside her, choking the air from her lungs. Kara had no doubts that Jennifer was to blame.

Footsteps pounded from outside the lift. Kara's head snapped up and she braced herself for an attack, but it was only Stiles that appeared in her vision.

"He won't wake up," Kara told him, a panicked edge to her voice. Stiles crouched down by Derek's side and gripped his shoulders as Kara had done.

She shook her head. "That won't work."

"Can't you use your powers or something? Jolt him awake?"

"I-I don't know. It might be dangerous to use the frequency while he's unconscious," Kara said. _And I barely have any powers left to use,_ she added silently.

"Derek, c'mon," Stiles urged him, striking him across the face with a hand. Kara winced as he did it again. Derek still wouldn't wake up. Stiles curled his hand into a fist and aimed it for Derek's face again. He must have somehow sensed the action because his hand shot out to intercept it. Derek's eyes flew open and frantically scanned his surroundings. Realisation dawned on his face.

"Where is she?" he rasped.

"Jennifer? Gone with Scott's mom."

Kara turned wide eyes on Stiles. "She took Melissa?"

"Yeah if that's not enough of a kick to the balls Scott left with Deucalion ok, so we gotta get you out of here—the police are coming right now. We gotta get you the hell out of here!" Stiles panted. He and Kara pulled Derek to his feet.

"What about Cora?" Derek asked.

"She's in the Argents' car with Peter and Isaac. They're waiting in the garage so we have to go right now," Kara said urgently. It was enough to spur Derek forwards, and after a few unsteady footsteps from him, they were running through the hallways.

"Stall the police—we'll get Cora," Kara instructed Stiles as she and Derek reached the exit. Stiles nodded and turned to wait for the police to arrive in the entrance.

Kara and Derek reached his car, and it wasn't long before they were peeling out of the parking lot and speeding towards the garage.

"Jennifer has two parents now," Kara said once her heart rate had slowed enough for her to form coherent sentences. "She only needs one more."

She and Derek shared a look, the same question mirrored in each other's eyes. Who was next?

Derek pulled into the garage and Kara spotted the Argents heading towards their car.

The second Derek had stopped driving Kara was swinging open the door and leaping onto the concrete. He followed suit, making a beeline for Cora.

"Where's Scott and Stiles?" Allison asked, looking between Kara and Derek.

"Stiles is still at the hospital. He's gonna hold off the cops for us," Derek explained, carrying Cora to his car. "We have to go right now."

Kara held open the door and he gently laid Cora on the backseat.

"What about Scott and Melissa?" Chris Argent asked.

Derek glanced at him. "Jennifer took Melissa."

Hopelessness welled in Kara's chest as she took in the pained faces of Allison, Isaac and Chris. Jennifer only needed one more parent, and with the sacrifices so near to completion everyone was at risk. Especially Allison's father, and all of the parents of Beacon Hills. But Kara knew that Jennifer would target him—what better way to gain

leverage over those who cared about Chris, those who had the power to stop Jennifer?

"What about Scott?" Allison asked. Derek was silent as he walked to the driver's seat of his car.

Allison stepped forward. "Derek, where's Scott?"

The alpha paused but still said nothing. Kara glanced at the worry on Allison's face. She deserved to know the truth.

So Kara sighed and told them all with a heavy voice, "Scott went with Deucalion."

* * *

"She's dying, isn't she?"

The truth in Isaac's words reverberated around the loft.

"I don't know," Derek replied, staring at the pale form of his sister. Cora's lips had turned bloody, and every feeble cough seemed to leech more colour from her face.

"So what are you going to do?" Isaac asked. Kara closed her eyes at the barely concealed frustration brimming in his voice. She dug her fingernails into the skin of her palm because she felt it as well—that awful anger that chased away any reason. Although hers was for a different reason.

"I don't know," Derek said after a moment, his voice heavy. Kara hated herself for the anger that flared through her body. Hated herself for not being able to look at him without seeing him lying on the floor of the lift, body still as death.

Isaac ran a hand through his hair. "You wanna figure something out? Because while Scott and Stiles are out there trying to help people from being killed, you are in here rolling around in the sheets with the actual killer."

No hurt registered on Derek's face. Just that bleak, resigned hopelessness.

"Do you get how many people she's killed?" Isaac continued, his voice starting to waver. "Erica and Boyd are dead, Cora is dying, and you are doing _nothing_!"

Isaac bent down so that he was level with Derek. "Why did you do this to us, Derek?" he asked quietly. "Was it all about the power? Were you bored? Were you lonely?"

Derek finally looked up at him. "Maybe."

Isaac slowly got up and turned towards the door.

"I told Cora I wouldn't leave," Derek said. "I'll help the others when I figure out how to help her."

"There's no time!" Isaac yelled. "The full moon is coming. The Sheriff and Melissa are gonna be dead so I'm gonna try and help them. You can sit here and perfect the art of doing nothing."

And with a fleeting glance at Kara, Isaac disappeared from the loft.

Kara knew what it had meant. He was asking her to choose, and he'd also given her an excuse to have space away from Derek. But how could she decide on which lives were more important to save? How could she turn her back on Cora? _If you don't save Melissa and Stiles' father, then many more people will die,_ a rational voice reminded her. _But if you choose to stay here without any plan whatsoever..._

Kara sighed inwardly. If she chose to stay at the loft with Cora, she would be wasting time. Like they had been for the last hour.

Maybe what she did next made her selfish, but she there wasn't any use thinking about that now.

"I'll go talk to him," Kara said, heading towards the loft door without so much as a backward glance. "Call me if anything happens."

She swung the door closed behind her with a loud clang and wondered if Derek was able to sense her relief. She'd felt like she was suffocating in there.

Kara jogged down the stairs in an effort to catch up to Isaac. It felt good to be doing something rather than sitting around waiting for a solution to appear. Kara wondered where they would even start to try and find Melissa and Stiles' father. She wondered what the others were doing, how Stiles had gone with the police. How Scott was holding up with the Alpha Pack. Kara shoved aside her worry for him. He could take care of himself.

She reached the bottom of the stairs and braced a hand against the wall as a wave of dizziness washed over her. Her vision blurred for a second before becoming clear again. Maybe using her powers had left her more drained than she thought.

After a few deep breaths, she started towards the parking lot. She felt for the bump on her head, suddenly remembering the injury she'd sustained at the hospital. Her headache had thankfully reduced to a quiet murmur, merely background noise. She found the lump beneath her hair, discovering that it had shrunk considerably. Kara made the mistake of lightly pressing on it and winced. Still tender, then.

"Isaac!" she yelled out, spotting his figure across the road. He turned around and hesitated for a moment before running over.

"If you've come to defend Derek then I don't want to hear it," he deadpanned.

Kara was taken aback. She'd never seen him this cold. "I came to help you find Melissa and the Sheriff," she said. He seemed to deflate, his face crumpling.

"I want to help Cora, but Derek..." he started.

"I know," Kara said. She understood that he'd had to make a hard choice in leaving Cora to save the others.

Kara started towards her car but paused when Isaac made no move to follow her. His eyes were fixated on the loft, a pained expression on his face.

"Do you think he ever cared about us? About me or Boyd or Erica?" Isaac asked without looking at her.

Kara was silent for a while. "I think that he hasn't had anyone to care about in a very long time and now he suddenly does. I think that terrifies him."

"You mean Cora," Isaac said, bitterness underlining his voice.

"I mean you _and_ Cora," Kara said vehemently. "Derek never told you why he kicked you out of the loft, did he?"

"He didn't have to. I know he didn't want me there."

Kara shook her head. "It wasn't that. He was worried that the Alpha pack would come after him and you'd get hurt in the process. It was a terrible way of doing it, but he only wanted to keep you safe."

Something like gratitude shone in Isaac's eyes and Kara gave him a small smile.

"We should probably get going," Isaac sighed. "I thought about going to the Argents for help. They'd have the best shot at tracking down Ms Blake."

"Sounds like a plan," Kara said, yawning as exhaustion washed over her.

Isaac scanned her face. "You don't look so well."

"Perks of having powers that require enormous amounts of energy to use," Kara said with a tired smile. "Which is why I'm going to let you drive my car. But if you damage it, you'll have hell to pay."

Isaac held his hands up in defence. "Your car is in good hands."

"Uh huh," Kara said, rolling her eyes as she climbed onto the backseat. Sleep found her the instant she laid down and she welcomed it with open arms.

It felt like she had been asleep for mere seconds before she was being shaken awake. "We're here," Isaac said. Kara rubbed at her eyes and slowly climbed out of the car. She was still exhausted. Coffee was what she needed right now since she couldn't sleep—but there was no time for that either. So she forced herself to put one foot in front of the other and follow Isaac into the Argents' apartment building. Where would they even start looking for Melissa and Stiles' father? Should they go after Jennifer to find them or simply go looking for the two parents? Who would be easier to find?

Silence fell between them as they entered the lift. Isaac pressed the number for Allison's floor and pulled out his phone.

"I texted Allison to let her know we were coming," Isaac explained, seeing the questioning look on Kara's face. She glanced to the top number on the list of buttons and grimaced.

"I almost forgot that the Alpha Pack lives here," Kara said, suppressing a shudder.

Isaac shook his head slightly. "Allison says she never sees them."

"So you guys see each other a lot?"

It was an innocent enough question, so Kara was surprised when Isaac's face turned beet red. He looked to the side, avoiding her gaze.

"I mean, uh, not a _lot_ —just sometimes. Y'know, just when we're dealing with all this supernatural business. Actually, that's pretty much the only time we see each other," Isaac rambled, rubbing the back of his neck.

Kara's face split into a grin. "Oh my god. You like her, don't you?"

"I do not," he replied hotly. "Did you know that she once stabbed me with Chinese ring daggers?"

"And how is it that the first time I've heard of this is when you're trying to convince me that you aren't totally crushing on her?"

Isaac huffed in frustration, which only caused Kara's grin to widen.

"This makes us even, you know," she informed him. "I know about you and Allison, and you know about me and.."

"Derek," Isaac finished. Kara sighed through her nose, the mention of his name sucking the amusement out of her.

"When I ran after Stiles into the hospital, I found Derek. Jennifer must have knocked him out because he was unconscious when I got to him. And I...when I first saw him, I thought he was dead," Kara said, swallowing. She wasn't sure why she was revealing this much. It might have been her exhaustion talking, but maybe she was just tired of pushing her feelings away. Kara barely ever talked about what was going on inside her head. Sometimes, she thought that maintaining the filter on her emotions was even more exhausting than using her powers.

"I was so angry at him for making me care enough to feel...terrified at the thought of him being gone," she continued. Her throat closed up with words she couldn't bring herself to say. _My mother's death almost broke me, and I had years to prepare for it. I'm scared of what would happen if Derek died._

The elevator dinged, signalling their arrival.

"So that anger in the loft...that was you?" Isaac asked as they walked down the corridor.

Kara frowned. "You could sense it?"

"I didn't think about it much at the time, but yeah, there was something."

Kara stifled a yawn as Isaac motioned towards one of the many white doors in the corridors. She made a mental note of the number on the door. Isaac opened it and they stepped into Allison's apartment. Kara heard faint voices as they made their way down the hall. She hoped the Argents were already planning to go after Melissa and the Sheriff.

Kara followed Isaac to the source of the voices—a study, she realised as she took in the desk and chairs. Her eyes widened at the sight of Allison, her father and Stiles standing amongst an arsenal of sleek, black weapons.

"I can't shoot a gun or use a crossbow, but I'm getting pretty good with these," Isaac said, claws appearing at his fingertips.

"We're here to help," Kara said. Allison gave her a small, appreciative smile, which Kara returned. She surveyed the firearms and handguns laid out on the table, then the knives in Allison's hands. There was a map lying on the table as well, with x's marked along its surface. Kara looked up at the teen and her father with realisation.

"You've figured out where they might be," she stated.

"All of the sacrifices Jennifer has committed have been on the telluric currents. There was only one sacrifice she failed to complete, so we think she might try again in that exact same place," Chris told Kara and Isaac. _Deaton,_ Kara realised. Scott had rescued him from the bank vault before Jennifer could kill him.

Stifling another yawn, Kara sat down in an armchair as Chris explained the plan. Him, Allison, Kara and Isaac would go to the bank vault while Stiles would go to school to figure out if there was a way for Lydia to help. Kara fought to keep her attention from drifting away, her eyes half-lidded. She wanted nothing more than to lie down and sleep, to just put everything on pause for a few hours. Chris' voice had become distant. She dug her nails into the skin of her leg, gritting her teeth. _Focus,_ she commanded herself. Melissa and Stiles' father were depending on them.

Deciding that standing would help her chase away the temptation of sleep, she rose from her position on the armchair and instantly regretted it. A rush of lightheadedness sent white stars dancing across her vision. The ground tilted beneath her, but she felt it distantly as if her body's senses had been dulled. Hands gripped her shoulder and back, jarring her. Kara blinked, and the stars slowly ebbed from her view.

"You okay?" Stiles asked from beside her, hands hovering behind her back in case she tipped over again. Kara merely nodded, not missing the concern in his eyes.

"It's your powers, isn't it? You're drained from using them," Allison stated.

Kara flopped back into the armchair. "I used them a lot in the hospital and I haven't had much of a chance to rest since."

Chris fixed her with a stern gaze. "You should sleep, Kara."

"I can't just sit here and do nothing."

"Listen to me," Chris said, moving to lean against the front of his desk. "Coming with us would do everyone more harm than good. This might be your last chance to rest before the full moon. It's a lunar eclipse, meaning that all werewolves lose their powers when the moon is fully covered by the earth's shadow. You and Jennifer will be the only ones with any power left, so you need to save up as much energy as possible. You might be the only person who can stop her."

Kara sighed and ran a hand through her hair.

"No, uh, pressure or anything," Stiles said. Kara shot him a glare, but it lacked any real ferocity.

Allison briefly glanced at her father before turning to Kara. "Come on. We have a spare bed you can use."

She led Kara out of the study and down the hall.

"I guess your dad knows about your involvement in all this supernatural stuff now—how did he react?" Kara asked once they were out of earshot.

Allison winced slightly. "He didn't take it well at first, but I think he's accepted that I can't sit on the sidelines while so many lives are in danger. Even if it puts me in danger."

Kara smiled to herself. Allison was a force to be reckoned with.

"You can rest in here," she said, opening the door to a small, minimalistic room. Light streamed in from two windows cloaked by sheer curtains. Kara stared at the daylight. It had been dark when she'd left the loft.

"Thank you," Kara said to Allison, who gave her a small smile. "Call me if anything happens."

"I will."

"I mean it, Allison. I hate sitting on the sidelines just as much as you do."

The teen nodded in understanding. "Rest up."

And with that, Kara was left alone in the room. Guilt ate away at her as she crawled onto the bed, even though she knew Chris was right. She hated the thought of doing nothing while the others went out and risked their necks, while Cora was slowly dying in front of her brother. Kara felt a deep ache at the thought of Derek. She wished she was with him. She didn't want him to face it alone. But if she couldn't physically be next to him, then the next best thing was to uphold her end of the deal. So Kara closed her eyes and allowed herself to sink into the bed. She finally had the power to help Beacon Hills, and she didn't want to mess it up.

* * *

Someone was tapping on the bedside table. Kara rolled over to tell them to go away and that she was sleeping, but then her bleary eyes landed on her phone. It wasn't someone tapping on the table—it was her phone buzzing. She lunged for it as it almost went over the edge and fumbled to answer the call.

"Kara, it's me," came Isaac's voice. There was something in it that made Kara's body fill with dread.

"What happened?" she demanded, feeling slightly sick.

"Allison's father was taken. We don't know why, but he _let_ Ms Blake take him—he knew she'd come to the vault."

Her heart hurt for Allison, who had already lost one parent. Now she faced the possibility of losing another.

"What are you doing now?" Kara asked as she leapt out of bed and laced up her boots.

"We're trying to figure out where Jennifer might have taken him and the other parents. She's working along the telluric currents, but it has to be somewhere we haven't been before. We need help, and I think Deaton is the only person left who can help us."

"I'll meet you there," Kara said before ending the call. She hurried out of the room and was about to walk out the door when her stomach growled. Kara huffed with impatience and turned back to find the kitchen. She swiped an apple from the fridge before leaving, hoping that Allison wouldn't mind.

"C'mon," she muttered, cursing the elevator for being so slow. Her phone vibrated in her pocket and Kara pulled it out to see a text from Stiles.

 _Lydia and I worked out where parents might be. She's going to loft to ask Derek and Peter about it. Can you meet her there? She has bad history with them._

A spark of hope lit in Kara's chest. Lydia and Stiles were smart—if they had an idea of where the parents were, then it was a lead worth following. Kara messaged Isaac with the change of plans as she stepped out of the lift. She half-ran towards her car with a growing sense of urgency. The full moon was coming, and it would bring devastation if they couldn't find the parents.

The drive to the loft seemed to take an eternity. Kara spotted Lydia's car in the parking lot as she walked to the building's entrance. Kara hoped that she was alright being alone with Peter for a bit—it wasn't Derek that worried Kara. She racked her brain for the history between Lydia and Peter as she climbed the loft stairs. Stiles had told her about it a while ago—something about Peter almost killing her back when he had been an alpha. Kara winced as she remembered that Lydia had been the one to resurrect Peter after he had gotten inside her head to manipulate her. The teen definitely shouldn't have faced Peter alone.

Kara reached the loft and swung open the door. Three figures inside turned to look at her—Derek, Peter and Lydia. Kara's eyes found Cora, and she swallowed uneasily. Cora was deathly pale.

"Where do you think the parents are being held?" she asked Lydia, who was frowning.

"How did you—?" Lydia started, but then understanding crossed her face. "Stiles sent you."

"We think Jennifer's keeping them at the nemeton," Peter explained.

Kara blinked. "What the hell is that?"

"It's a sacred tree located in Beacon Hills. It was used by Druids as a meeting place, and its supposed to hold some kind of power," Derek said, sighing.

"Ok, great—tell me where it is and I'll let the others know so we can rescue the parents."

Peter shook his head at Kara. "There's a small problem. We don't know where it is."

"But Stiles said you've been there," Lydia insisted.

"We have," Peter said, glancing at Derek. "But after a few memorable experiences there Talia—Derek's mother, my older sister—decided that she didn't ever want us going back. She knew how dangerous it was and took the memory of its location from us."

Kara sagged in defeat.

"But then how are we supposed to find it?" Lydia asked. Peter merely shrugged.

"Isaac said that he and Allison were going to Deaton for help. Would he know some way to figure out where the nemeton is?" Kara asked.

Derek frowned thoughtfully. "He might."

"Then its worth a try," Lydia said, standing up. She looked questioningly at Kara, silently asking her if she was coming. Kara glanced at Cora. Yet again, she had to decide between the lives of those she cared about. But there was nothing she could do for Cora right now. The teen wouldn't have wanted Kara to waste an opportunity to save the parents, even if it meant leaving her. So Kara turned to follow Lydia out of the loft, praying that Cora would still be alive when she got back.

"Wait," Derek called out, just as Kara reached the door. He climbed up the stairs to reach her and she felt a familiar flutter in her stomach.

"I'll meet you down there," Kara said to Lydia, who nodded and started down the stairs. Kara turned to face Derek, taking in his drawn face and the shadows under his eyes. When had he last slept?

"Look, I know that you were angry at me for not doing much to help Cora or the parents," Derek said, sighing. Kara blinked in surprise. He must have sensed her anger too as Isaac had.

"I wasn't angry at you for that," Kara said quietly. Derek frowned, but her gaze slipped past him to where Peter was sitting near the window. She knew he was likely listening to their conversation.

"But that doesn't matter now," she told Derek. She expected him to protest, but he simply pursed his mouth into a thin line. Maybe he knew that he wouldn't get any answers by pushing her.

"There might be a way for me to save Cora," Derek revealed. "Peter said that if I took enough of her pain, I'd be able to heal her with the spark of power that makes me an alpha. But..."

"But?" Kara pressed.

"I'd become a beta. That is if it doesn't kill me."

Kara quieted her thundering heart. She couldn't lose them both. Not like this.

But she knew that Derek would do it. He loved his sister too much to put himself first. Bitterness clawed its way up her throat, burning her tongue. She wished her brother had done the same for her. _Enough,_ commanded a steely voice in her head, the one that always pushed away her thoughts of Asher. She wondered if she would ever be able to stop thinking of him entirely. No—she knew that he would never completely leave her, no matter how deep she tried to bury him.

"Just...be careful," Kara said. She stepped close enough to Derek that she had to crane her neck to look up at him. "Be wary of Peter," she told him, voice barely above a whisper. "He's not above using your weakness to his advantage."

Derek nodded, something flashing in his eyes. A dulled, distant sort of look that had Kara wondering if he'd already contemplated this. Like he'd become resigned to the fact that his uncle would take any opportunity to seize power. Even if it was at Derek's expense.

Kara reluctantly stepped away from Derek and headed out of the loft. She had one priority right now, and it was finding the nemeton. Find the nemeton, save the parents. She would worry about the rest later.

* * *

Hours later, Kara's hands were numb with cold from handling bags of ice. She couldn't believe that they had to resort to doing this again—shoving someone into an ice bath to access their subconscious, a procedure that could very well kill them. Except that this time, three people would go under. And the aim was to kill them.

Deaton had reassured Scott, Stiles and Allison that they would only remain dead for a few seconds. The three teenagers had each brought an item significant to their parents, used to connect them to their whereabouts. Deaton made it sound simple enough, but they all knew there would be consequences for toying with the power that went hand-in-hand with death. The kind of power fuelled by the sacrifices of innocent lives. The kind of power that could wreak havoc on an Alpha Pack.

"The three of you will get in and we will hold you down until you're essentially, well, dead," Deaton explained. "But it's not just someone to hold you under. It needs to be someone who can pull you back. Someone that has a strong connection to you. A kind of emotional tether."

Lydia made to move to Allison, but Deaton said, "Lydia—you go with Stiles."

Confusion flitted across the teen's face before she smiled hesitantly at Stiles.

"Are you sure? I mean, Scott and I both have to go under," Allison asked, frowning. Deaton stayed silent, merely giving her a knowing look. Kara wondered how he knew that there was something going on between Isaac and Allison. The latter glanced at Scott, who was staring at her with sudden realisation.

"It's okay," Scott said to her. Kara didn't miss the catch in his voice, and she felt a small pang of sympathy for him. Allison had been his first love, and from what Kara understood it had been a hard breakup. Those feelings didn't go away easily.

Scott, Stiles and Allison each moved to stand behind a silver tub. As the person they had the strongest connection to moved with them, Kara realised she was unneeded. She leant against a wall, watching as the three teenagers painfully lowered themselves into the freezing water and shivered violently with the cold. It hurt her to see how readily they risked themselves to save their parents. They had barely even hesitated.

"By the way um, if you make it back and I don't, you should probably know something," Stiles said to Scott, voice wavering with shivers that wracked his body. "Your dad's in town."

Shock flitted across Scott's face. Kara hadn't known that his dad was absent, and from the look on Scott's face, it seemed he had been gone for a while. The timing was painfully ironic. His father had come back just as he was about to risk his life. If this went wrong...Scott might never see him again.

The entire room seemed to be growing colder by the second. Isaac, Lydia and Deaton placed their hands on their designated person's shoulders, and Kara held her breath as they pushed down. There was something deeply disturbing about watching Scott, Stiles and Allison disappear beneath the icy water. When Kara first came to Beacon Hills, she thought it would provide refuge for someone like her—a supernatural being. She hadn't realised that the town unknowingly relied on the strength of a group of teenagers to keep it from descending into chaos.


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

Lydia bit her lip, eyes glancing up at the clock for what seemed like the hundredth time in the past hour. Kara watched the girl with curiosity. She had gleaned enough about Lydia through her friends and her own observations to know that she was at the top of the popularity ladder. How had she gotten mixed up in the supernatural world? How long had it been since her biggest worry was who to take to a school dance, or hosting the perfect party? Kara felt a pang of sadness. Lydia should have been able to enjoy her teenage years. Instead, she was forced to protect Beacon Hills. _Not forced,_ Kara thought to herself. They all bore that weight with the knowledge that they could walk away at any time. Kara wondered if that made it easier or harder to endure.

"How long have you known them?" Kara asked Lydia, motioning to the three teenagers submerged in ice baths. They had been watching over Allison, Scott and Stiles for the past sixteen hours, taking turns so that they could catch a few hours of sleep each. Isaac had been with them, but he was now in the other room getting some sleep. It was an effort to convince him to leave Allison's side—something that Kara was planning on teasing him for later. Kara had also utilised the time to practice drawing out her powers. She feared she would go mad from waiting for the three teenagers to wake up, and in her frustrated state, she had even gone so far as to obliterate a trashcan outside the clinic. Deaton had not been pleased.

"I've been going to the same school as Scott and Stiles for ages, but I never really talked to them until I became friends with Allison and she started dating Scott," Lydia replied. She smiled fondly at Allison, who remained motionless beneath the water. Lydia's smile faded. "There are only four hours until the full moon," she said quietly. Kara swallowed at the reminder.

Both girls jumped as a door swung open, but it was only Deaton returning from feeding the cats in his care. He still had a job to do, after all.

"Any changes?" He asked them. Kara shook her head and tried to ignore the worry that briefly clouded Deaton's face. She glanced at Allison, wishing that she and the others would wake up. Lydia was right—they had little time left. The parents would be dead by the full moon, with Jennifer having sacrificed them to become powerful enough to go after the Alpha Pack. Their only hope of saving the parents was riding on Allison, Scott and Stiles figuring out the location of the Nemeton. It didn't seem particularly likely, considering they showed no signs of waking up any time soon.

A flash of movement caught Kara's gaze. She stared wide-eyed at Allison. Had her hand just curled into a fist? Kara rubbed at her face, sure that she had imagined it. But no—when she crept closer and peered into the still water of Allison's tub, she discovered that one hand was tightly clenched into a fist.

"What is it?" Lydia asked.

"Allison's hand—it just moved," Kara said, earning a look of surprise from Deaton. Could it mean that she was waking up? Sixteen hours had passed without so much as a tremor of movement. It had to mean something.

Deaton seemed to think so, because he turned to Kara and said, "Go wake Isaac up."

She nodded but didn't get far before there was an almighty splash and the sound of heaving gasps filled the air. Kara whirled around, staring in shock at the three teenagers who were now very much awake. Violent shivers wracked their bodies and their hair was plastered to their faces in wet clumps. Kara wrenched herself out of her daze and grabbed a towel for Allison, with Deaton and Lydia following suit. Allison, Scott and Stiles clambered out of the tubs as Isaac came racing into the room.

"I saw it, I know where it is!" Scott exclaimed as Deaton handed him a towel.

"We passed it, there was this stump, this huge tree—well it's not huge anymore, it was cut down, but it's still big though, very big," Stiles added, flinging water from his fingertips as he talked.

"It was the night we were looking for the body," Scott continued. Kara's brow furrowed, unsure of what night he was referring to.

Seeing her look of confusion, Stiles added, "It was the same night Scott was bitten by Peter."

"I was there too in the car with my mother, we almost hit someone," Allison gasped, and Kara swung a towel around her drenched body. The teen shot her a grateful smile.

"It was me," Scott realised, looking at his former girlfriend. "You almost hit me."

Allison's mouth hung open. Kara's gaze flitted between Allison, Scott and Stiles, bewildered by the fact that they had all encountered the Nemeton on the same night. As if it were meant to be.

"We can find it," Scott told his boss, steely determination in his voice. But Deaton remained quiet and shared an uneasy look with Kara.

"What?" Allison asked, noticing the exchange.

It was Isaac who answered. "You guys were out a long time."

"How long is a long time?" Stiles asked, eyes going wide with anticipation.

"Sixteen hours," Deaton said. Allison, Scott and Stiles gaped at him, disbelief clouding their faces. Kara felt their devastation mirrored in the pit of her stomach, where her worry coiled in on itself like a snake. A lot could happen in sixteen hours. Kara hadn't heard a word from Derek about Cora, and the lack of contact had been driving her insane. She'd only been able to resist calling him by reminding herself that he would call if anything happened. If he was really going to heal Cora himself, she didn't want to interrupt. There was already enough at stake.

Scott's voice jolted Kara out of her thoughts. "We've been in the water for sixteen hours?"

"And the full moon rises in less than four," Deaton said grimly. Scott's shoulders sagged in defeat, and Kara felt a pang of pity for him underneath her rising fear. A sense of urgency had been slowly growing in her over the past sixteen hours. She hated not being able to do anything against the corrosive dread that filled her bones. But the waiting game was over. They knew where the Nemeton was. All they had to do now was find it and rescue the parents, putting an end to Jennifer's sacrifices. Kara wished it was as simple as it sounded.

"I have to go back to Deucalion," Scott said suddenly, and the effect was immediate. Allison and Stiles protested with wide eyes, and Kara looked at Scott with alarm.

"No, dude, you are not going back with them," Stiles said incredulously.

"I made a deal with Deucalion," Scott said, his voice heavy.

Stiles' eyebrows skyrocketed. "Does anyone else think that sounds a lot like a deal with the devil?"

"Why does it matter anyway?" Isaac asked, glancing at Scott.

"Because," Scott sighed, "I still don't think that we can beat Jennifer without their help."

Allison looked imploringly at Deaton. "He trusts you more than anyone. Tell him he's wrong."

"I'm not so sure he is," the Vet said, brow furrowed in thought. "Circumstances like this sometimes require that you align yourself with people you'd normally consider enemies."

"Deucalion isn't just an enemy," Kara said, a faint roaring in her ears. "He's a monster, Deaton. He'll turn on Scott as soon as he stops being useful to him."

Every fibre of her being was screaming in protest. They couldn't trust Deucalion. He had left a wake of devastation and death in his path—Kara's mother having been just one of the many. She couldn't let Scott become another one of his victims.

"Deucalion still wants me in his pack. He won't kill me," Scott reminded her.

"There are worse things than death," Kara said quietly. And from the tightness in his jaw, Kara guessed that Scott knew what she was talking about. When Deucalion was done making Scott kill every single person he cared about, he would wish he was dead too. Just as Kara had wanted to die when her mother had ripped her own stomach to ribbons and bled to death.

Tears stung her eyes, and she suddenly felt like she was drowning. She would never escape him. Deucalion was always be there, haunting her. If he wasn't right in front of her, he was in her thoughts, and if he wasn't in her thoughts, his name always wriggled its way into the conversation. Like a parasite, he had infected Kara's life, was feeding from her. His hooks in her ran bone-deep.

"I'll be back in a minute," Kara said, ignoring bewildered looks as she ducked out of the clinic. The moment she stepped outside a gust of wind tugged at her, drying her tears. Like something, somewhere, had known she'd needed to feel strong. Kara breathed a sigh of relief. Throwing a glance towards the door of the clinic to make sure that no one could see her, she leant against the brick wall and closed her eyes. She had just walked out on an incredibly important conversation. Was it just because she hadn't been able to bear the thought of Scott falling prey to Deucalion? Or had the reality of Deucalion's monstrous ways simply chipped away at her sanity? Kara groaned and let her head fall back onto the brick. She hoped the others hadn't seen her teary eyes. Kara didn't want to answer any questions, and she certainly didn't want their pity. It was her burden to bear. The only person she would be willing to share it with wasn't here, and she didn't know how long it would be until she would see him again. If she would even see him again.

"Rough night?"

Kara's eyes snapped open. She pulled herself away from the wall and came face to face with one of Deucalion's devil twins. Ethan—or Aiden, she couldn't tell—was standing mere metres away. The werewolf wore all black, and he seemed to almost blend into the night. He looked grim. Kara tugged on a tether of her power, letting it pool into her fingertips. She raised a hand out in warning, but the werewolf made no move towards her.

"I'm not here for a fight," he said, gaze slipping past her to the clinic.

Kara's eyes darted around in the dark, searching for any hidden figures. "Then what did Deucalion send you here to do?"

"He doesn't know I'm here. I need your help."

Kara scoffed. "I think you're forgetting that the last time I saw you and your brother, you both knocked me out and I ended up with a concussion. Ask someone else for help."

"Look, I know you have every reason to hate me and Aiden," he said cautiously. _So this is Ethan,_ Kara realised. She had a feeling it was his life that Scott had saved at Motel California.

When Kara didn't react, Ethan pressed on. "But I think you and the others are going to want to hear me out."

Kara's eyes narrowed. "And why is that?"

"Because I want to stop my brother and Kali from killing Derek."

* * *

Seated next to Lydia in her car, Kara wondered what they would be walking into as she drove to the loft. Would they have enough time to get Derek and Cora to safety? Would Kali and Aiden already be at the loft? Ethan had assured them that the two alphas would wait until closer to the full moon, but Kara wasn't convinced. She didn't entirely trust him. When it came down to it, would Ethan really turn against his brother to save Derek?

She wasn't sure why Ethan had wanted Lydia to come with them. Kara was keenly aware of the fact that, out of all of them, she would be the most vulnerable in a fight. She had no way to defend herself. But Kara had a sneaking suspicion that Lydia was there to discourage a fight. Scott had told her a while ago that Lydia was involved with Aiden. Maybe Ethan had brought her along as a reminder to Aiden—that he was on the wrong side.

It had taken a fair amount of time to convince everyone at the animal clinic that Kara and Lydia needed to go to the loft to keep Derek from being killed. They were all wary of Ethan. It had been Kara who'd shifted the tide from unease to reluctant agreement. She had reminded them that they'd already known Kali would come for Derek on the full moon so Ethan couldn't be lying. _He could be leading you right into the palm of Deucalion,_ a voice in the back of Kara's mind had said. She'd ignored it. It was a risk they'd have to take to save Derek.

Kara glanced at Ethan's reflection in her rearview mirror. She had crippled him once with her frequency trick. If he tried anything, she could do it again.

She pulled up next to the loft and the three of them stepped out of the car. Ethan scanned the parking lot, eyes glowing red. Kara resisted the urge to shudder. _He's just using his enhanced vision,_ she reminded herself.

Ethan must have deemed the parking lot safe because he motioned for them to follow him to the loft. They ascended the stairs quietly, not wanting to reveal their location. They had no idea what they would face in the loft. Ethan paused when they were a flight of stairs away from the loft and frowned in concentration.

"Anything?" Kara pressed.

"I can hear voices but...I think its just Derek and Cora. And someone else," he said quietly.

"Peter, probably," Kara said, resisting the urge to roll her eyes. He was always hanging around the loft. Ethan nodded, confirming her suspicions. Kara led them up the remaining stairs, almost jogging in her haste to warn Derek. Then the realisation of what Ethan said hit her, and she almost missed a step. He had mentioned hearing Cora's voice. Meaning that she had to be alive and well enough to talk. Kara's pace increased, and she reached the landing before the others. Derek must have used his power as an alpha to save her—what other choices would he have had? If Kara was right, then it meant that Derek had become a beta. He wouldn't survive a fight with Kali.

Kara pulled on the loft door and it slid open with a squeal. She spotted Derek first; he stood in the centre of the loft, body tense. As if he was waiting for a fight. He relaxed when he realised it was only Kara, and she knew he'd been expecting Kali. Peter stood next to him, and Kara felt her lip start to curl in annoyance. _Pest,_ she thought. Her gaze shifted to the right, and she saw Cora leaning against the wall. Not laying down unresponsive, not barely breathing, but _standing._ Alive.

"Thank god," Kara said, starting towards Cora. She flung her arms around the younger girl and hugged her tightly, hardly able to believe that she was healed. Cora froze for a moment before wrapping her arms around Kara, seeming surprised by the hug.

Cora suddenly pulled herself away. "What is he doing here?" she asked sharply, glaring at Ethan. Kara saw the daggers in her eyes and subtly stepped between them. The last thing they needed was a brawl.

"He's here to help," Kara reassured her. Cora and Derek stared at her with identical expressions of incredulity. _Definitely siblings,_ Kara thought to herself.

"Kali is coming," Ethan said simply.

"We know that," Cora told him, crossing her arms. Her voice was cold, but Kara didn't miss the tremor of fear underneath it. Fear for her brother.

Derek frowned at Ethan. "But you didn't come here just to tell us that, did you?"

Kara expected Ethan to answer him, but he sent her a meaningful glance. Ethan raised his eyebrows and nodded slightly, as if to say, _you tell him._

Kara shook off her confusion and turned to Derek. "We want you to run."

"And why would I do that?" Derek asked. Kara wasn't fazed by his response. She knew he wouldn't like the idea of running away from Kali. To him, it would feel like defeat. She admired his unwillingness to give up, but not when it put his life at risk. _Stubborn,_ she thought with exasperation, but not without fondness.

"We know about the lunar eclipse," Ethan revealed. "So don't think Kali is going to sit around and wait for it to level the playing field. She's coming. My brother is coming with her."

"That's good enough for me," Peter said. "Derek?"

"You want me to run?" Derek asked his uncle, staring at him defiantly.

Peter gave him a flat look. "No, I want you to stay and get slaughtered by an alpha with a psychotic foot fetish. Of course I want you to run! Sprint, gallop, leap your way the hell out of this town."

For once, Kara agreed with him.

"You want to fight and die for something, that's fine by me. But do it for something meaningful," Cora said, voice hard.

Not even his sister's plea was enough to sway Derek. "How do you know I'm going to lose?"

"We don't. But I'll bet that she-" Peter nodded to Lydia- "has an idea. Don't you, Lydia?"

She looked at him warily. "I don't know anything."

"But you feel something, don't you?"

"What do you feel?" Derek asked Lydia, noticing her uneasy look.

"I feel like..." Lydia began, her brows furrowed in concentration. "I'm standing in a graveyard."

Her words opened up a chasm of fear in Kara's stomach. She turned to Derek, looking at him imploringly. "Derek, please," she said. She didn't care if she sounded desperate. All she wanted was to convince him to save himself. _Please run. Do it for Cora. Do it for me._

Something in her voice must have convinced him because his face softened slightly. "Fine," he relented, and Kara could have toppled over with relief.

"You need to leave now. You should go as well," she said, looking at Cora. She nodded and headed for the stairs with Derek. There was no time to pack anything. For all they knew, Kali could have been climbing up the stairs at that very moment. Kara resisted the urge to shudder at the thought of Cora and Derek becoming stuck with her in the stairwell.

Kara stepped outside the loft where Cora and Derek were going over a hasty plan. She wanted to say goodbye before they left.

"There's no point asking you to come with us, is there?" Cora asked with a rueful smile.

Kara shook her head. "I'm not the one that Kali wants."

"Kali may not want you, but Deucalion does," Derek reminded her.

"I can protect myself," Kara said, even though the thought of going up against Deucalion made her nauseous. But wasn't that what she wanted? To kill Deucalion? Kara supposed it was more a question of _could_ she, rather than _would_ she. She had twelve years of anger and pain to fuel her actions. Did she have the physical strength to go with it?

"Besides, Deucalion isn't on his way here right now," Kara said pointedly. Cora and Derek took the hint, and together they descended the stairs with Peter.

Kara retreated back into the loft and shut the door, praying that the Hale siblings made it to safety.

"What do we do now?" Lydia asked.

It was Ethan who answered her. "We stall."

* * *

The moment the loft alarm went off, Kara felt a strange mixture of fear and relief. She was afraid of what Kali and Aiden would do, but she had hated waiting for them to show up. She had been drowning in her own dread.

Kali appeared in the doorway first. She slid the door open so hard that it banged against the other side of the wall and bounced back. Aiden stepped in after her, and his face hardened when he saw Lydia. Something flashed in his eyes.

The piercing sound abruptly ended when Kali kicked at the alarm, sending it skittering across the floor. It came to a halt right at Kara's feet.

Kali fixed them with a murderous glare. "Where is he," she deadpanned.

"I think he said he was heading out to do some shopping, run a few errands," Lydia mused, and Kara was surprised by how confident she sounded. "You know, the usual werewolf afternoon."

Kali stalked closer. "Who do you think you're talking to?"

"Someone in desperate need of a pedicure," Lydia said, folding her arms. "I'd be happy to give you a referral."

A growl from behind made Kali pause. She turned to face Aiden, who was glaring at her. "Oh really?" Kali said through gritted teeth. "Did someone take their little assignment too seriously?"

Ethan had been right to bring Lydia along. Aiden was reluctant to attack them with her there—and he wouldn't let Kali hurt Lydia, either.

"She is not the problem," Aiden said, looking at Lydia. She glanced away, unease on her face.

"Maybe the problem is where your loyalties lie," Kali said. Malice dripped from her voice, and Kara saw claws appear at her fingertips.

"Oh god," Lydia said under her breath. "Is this about to get really violent?"

"Probably," Ethan replied.

They weren't wrong. The moment the words left Ethan's lips the glass ceiling shattered and a figure landed in the middle of the loft. Kara shrieked as glass rained down from above. She barely registered the stinging sensation on the backs of her hands in her haste to back away. Ethan dragged Lydia to safety, the girl's face twisted with horror. Pressed against a pillar, Kara watched as Jennifer Blake rose from the floor. Why had she come? The lunar eclipse hadn't begun yet—as far as Kara knew, Jennifer needed that advantage to defeat the alpha pack.

Jennifer stared Kali down. "So, who wants to go first?" she asked, and Kara realised that she had come for revenge. Kali bared her fangs and lunged at Jennifer, who side-stepped her with concerning ease. Kara watched with mounting horror as Jennifer dodged and weaved around Kali's blows until she thrust out her hands and sent the alpha flying. Kara had been wrong. Jennifer may have needed the lunar eclipse to take on Deucalion, but she certainly didn't need it to defeat Kali. The alpha didn't rise from the floor.

Aiden growled and Jennifer turned her murderous gaze on him. There was something deeply twisted about the way she smiled as she dodged Aiden's blow and struck his shoulder, sending him sprawling on the floor. She wore the face of someone who had waited a long time for revenge and was enjoying every sinister moment of it.

Ethan roared in anger at the sight of his brother on the ground. He jumped up from Lydia's side and unzipped his jacket. Ethan ran to his brother and without any communication between them, the twins started merging into one body. Like it was instinct. It began with their arms—hands blended into skin until it was one smooth surface. But before they could complete the transformation, Jennifer grabbed them by their necks. Lydia gave a small gasp of alarm as the twins were ripped apart and flung to opposite sides of the room. They remained motionless on the ground.

Kara swiftly helped Lydia to her feet and stood in front of her, a shield in case the violence came their way. But when Jennifer spun around, it was not them she focused her gaze on. Kali was rising from the floor, fury in her eyes. Kara had thought that Jennifer's smile was sinister before, but that was nothing compared to the predatory curl of her lips as she stalked towards Kali. She smiled like someone who had already won. Kali kicked out at Jennifer, but she dodged it with ease. Kali cartwheeled, putting distance between the two of them. Something made her pause. She stared at Jennifer, her expression inscrutable.

"That's right Kali. Look at me," Jennifer said venomously. "Look at my face. Do you know what it takes to look like this? To be able to look normal?"

Kali snapped out of whatever daze she had been in. "I don't care."

"It takes power," Jennifer growled. "Power like this."

Kara sucked in a sharp breath as Jennifer angled her palms towards the ground. Jagged pieces of glass rose to meet them, and in a matter of seconds, Jennifer had created a lethal wall of floating glass. Kara felt Lydia grip onto her arm.

"I..." Kali began. "I should've..."

Jennifer spread her arms wide and angled the pointed ends of the glass shards at Kali.

The alpha's face filled with rage. "I should have ripped your head off!" she shouted. Jennifer let loose a scream and sent the glass flying into Kali's skin. Blood welled in a thousand different places, oozing down her face and neck. Kara watched in horror as she swayed on her feet and fell gracelessly to the ground with a sickening thud. Like her power as an alpha had never meant anything at all.

Lydia's grip on Kara's arm tightened as Jennifer slowly turned to face them. Fear stabbed at Kara—real fear. She had just witnessed Jennifer kill an alpha and subdue alpha twins. She was more powerful than any of them had expected.

Movement behind Jennifer caught Kara's eye. It was the twins, their bodies slowly merging into one hulking form. Kara quickly averted her eyes as to not give them away, but it was too late. Jennifer had seen the movement. She spun around just as the twins stood up in their mega-werewolf form. They growled and swung a fist at Jennifer, who ducked beneath their conjoined arm. Faster than Kara could comprehend, Jennifer whirled behind the twins and snapped their neck. Kara only knew that because an audible crack echoed throughout the room—she had barely seen Jennifer snake her hand around the twin's neck. Lydia cried out as the twins fell, still in their conjoined form. They hit the ground with an almighty _thump._ It was one of the worst things Kara had ever heard.

"What's that line coach likes to say?" Jennifer asked, turning to Kara and Lydia. Her mouth tipped up into a merciless smile. "The bigger they are..."

Kara glanced at the broken form of the twins, blood oozing out of their mouth. _The harder they fall._

Jennifer stepped closer to the two girls, and Kara tensed. She frantically tugged on her power and felt its familiar presence pool in her fingertips. Could she beat Jennifer in a fight? There was a large part of her screaming _no, you can't take her, you can't take on someone who just killed three alphas._ But as Jennifer began to raise her palms, Kara realised she had no choice.

Out of pure instinct, Kara flung her hands forward and willed her powers to encase her. She and Lydia were enveloped in a golden sphere, and Kara instantly knew she had made a mistake. She had chosen the most draining use of her powers. Maintaining a shield took an immense amount of energy. She wouldn't be able to keep it up for long. And when the shield came down, Kara knew that Jennifer would be waiting. Kara had doomed herself and Lydia.

Somehow, Jennifer seemed to realise it too. She smirked at Kara, who was now panting with the effort of keeping her shield in place.

"You can't keep that up forever. You'll burn yourself out," she taunted. Kara groaned as Jennifer slammed her fists against the barrier, and it shuddered like it was a living thing. She did it again, and this time Kara cried out. It was like Jennifer was hitting _her._ She felt what her shield felt.

"I can't keep this up for long," Kara told Lydia, the words coming out in a gasp. Her arms started violently shaking, and Lydia looked at her with wide eyes.

"When I burn out, you run as fast as you can," Kara told her as quietly as she could manage. "I'll try to hold her off."

"She'll kill you," Lydia said, her voice a horrified whisper. Kara barely heard her—her entire body began to tremble like she had been plunged into an icy lake. Her knees threatened to buckle with the strain of holding up her shield.

"If you keep this up, you're going to be terribly weak," Jennifer announced, sounding almost bored.

Kara gritted her teeth. "If I don't keep this up," she panted, "you'll kill us."

"Who said anything about killing you?"

Jennifer lifted her palms and angled them toward Kara. She drew her hands back slowly as if amassing power, and thrust them out. The full force of her power hit Kara's shield.

"No!" Lydia cried as the golden barrier disappeared into thin air. Kara staggered back and felt herself pitch sideways. Before she knew what was happened she had hit the ground with a bone-shattering thud. She felt the pain, but she didn't really register it. She felt incredibly light. Too light, as if she would float away if she wasn't careful. _You're drained,_ a rational voice in her mind told her, cutting through the haze.

"What do you want from me?"

Lydia's voice drew Kara's attention to where the girl was pressed up against a pillar, Jennifer standing alarmingly close to her. _Get up!_ Kara screamed at her body, but it would not obey. She could only helplessly watch as Jennifer smirked at Lydia and prowled closer.

"I want you to do what you do best, Lydia. I want you to scream."

Jennifer's face suddenly transformed into a grotesque mask of twisted skin and Lydia let loose a scream that could have woken the dead.

Kara cried out, the sound invading her brain like lava. It was a thousand times worse than every other time she had heard Lydia scream. Every single one of her nerves had been lit on fire, and she was blinded by white-hot pain. Kara clamped her hands over her ears but it did nothing against the sheer power in that scream. Distantly, she heard someone weeping. "Please!" they begged, and Kara was startled to realise that the sound had come from her own mouth. Her senses had been turned against her so that all she knew was the pain of Lydia's scream. For all her power, Kara could do nothing but endure it.

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **Hope you all enjoyed this chapter! This is the second last chapter of season 3A, which means that the next chapter is the finale! Originally chapter 19 and 20 were going to be one chapter but I split them so I could update sooner. The majority of chapter 20 is written so I should be able to update pretty soon.**

 **I've also hit 100,000 words! Thank you to everyone who has reviewed as it encourages me to write, so please keep leaving reviews - it means a lot :)**

 **For more about _Phantasm_ you can follow my Tumblr (the-aether-ascension).**


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20**

The sight that greeted Derek when he and Cora raced back to the loft was not a pleasant one. Kara knew what he saw—his ex-girlfriend surrounded by glass, blood and the bodies of three alpha werewolves. Kara and Lydia huddled against a pillar, tear tracks shining on their cheeks. Kara wiped at her face hastily, but Derek had already seen. His hands balled into fists. It occurred to her that she didn't want him to think she had cried out of fear. Hearing Lydia's scream in close range had triggered some of the worst pain Kara had ever experienced. She hadn't even realised she had curled into a weeping ball on the floor until Lydia had stopped wailing. But Jennifer had remained standing. Why did it affect Kara so much?

"What did you do to them?" Derek asked Jennifer, voice brimming with anger. Cora darted towards Kara and Lydia. She crouched down beside them and laid a comforting hand on Lydia's shoulder. Cora gave Kara a searching look as if asking _are you alright?_ She simply nodded, her tongue feeling too heavy to form words.

"Nothing," Jennifer said, staring at Derek with wide, innocent eyes. As if that would get her very far with him. "Lydia's scream is...quite powerful. I wasn't aware of how much it affects Kara." Jennifer stated it like it was fascinating—like she had discovered something she could use. Kara felt a shiver run down her back. She didn't like the glint in Jennifer's eye.

Derek's gaze found the bodies of Kali and the alpha twins, both lying in pools of their own blood.

Jennifer followed his eyes. "I did that for you."

"You did this for me?" he repeated in disbelief.

"For us," Jennifer said earnestly, and Kara felt a surge of anger. "For anyone who's ever been their victim."

Derek stepped closer, his body tense. "Stop talking to me like a politician. Stop trying to convince me of your cause!"

"Fine. I'll convince you of someone else's. Scott."

Derek's face tightened, but it was not with anger this time. Kara felt dread twist her insides. She knew what was coming—what tactic Jennifer would try next.

"You can save his mother, Stiles' father," Jennifer continued.

"How?" Derek demanded.

There was a pause, and then Jennifer said, "I need a guardian. That's a role that can either be filled by the three parents I was forced to take, or by you."

Warning bells went off in Kara's head. Jennifer wanted to use Derek again, just as she had at the hospital. Where Kara had found him unconscious in the elevator. When she had thought for a few brief, horrible moments that he was dead.

"I can't help you. I'm not even an alpha anymore."

"All I need is for you to get Deucalion in the right place, at the right time."

"You just killed three of them on your own," Derek said with a sardonic smile. "What do you need me for?"

"You haven't seen him at his strongest. I have. And if he's got Scott with him then I don't stand a chance. Unless I have you."

The mention of Scott's name sent a grim look across Derek's face. If he agreed to help Jennifer, then he would be fighting Scott. How could he do that, even if it meant saving the lives of three people?

"Derek," Kara said, rising from the floor with a wince. "Don't do it. You can't trust her."

Jennifer turned around slowly, eyebrows risen. "This is the only way that the parents can be—"

"Last time he agreed to be your bodyguard you left him for dead in an elevator," Kara snapped. She wanted to save those parents so badly that it hurt. She had promised Stiles that she would do everything in her power to rescue his father. But she couldn't lose Derek. There had to be another way.

"Out of everyone, I would have thought that you wanted Deucalion dead the most," Jennifer said. _I do,_ Kara thought desperately. _But not like this._

"We've both been hurt by him," Jennifer reminded her, and Kara gave a harsh laugh.

"Don't pretend that you and I are the same."

"You're right. We aren't. You don't need to sacrifice people to kill Deucalion. You have enough power on your own—which is why I'll make you an offer. _You_ can be my guardian. Help me stop Deucalion. Make him pay for what he did to you."

Kara was at a loss for words. If she agreed to be Jennifer's guardian, then Derek would be safe. She could save the parents—once Jennifer had her guardian, she wouldn't need to sacrifice them. But could Kara really help a monster like her? Jennifer had killed so many innocent people for the 'greater good', had called them a necessary sacrifice. But once she had killed Deucalion...all that would stop. Deucalion's goal of recruiting powerful alphas by forcing them to kill had no end in sight. It would never end.

Kara opened her mouth to agree to Jennifer's proposal, but Derek cut her off.

"No. I'll do it."

Kara shot him a wide-eyed look and Jennifer let out a small breath of relief. She turned back to Derek. "Then we have to go now. The lunar eclipse only lasts for fifteen minutes—that's all the time I have to kill Deucalion."

And before Kara knew what was happening, Derek was following Jennifer out of the loft. He turned back, shooting Kara an unreadable look, and then he was gone.

Cora glanced at Kara with realisation in her eyes. "She knew he would agree."

"What?"

"Jennifer used you as bait. She knew Derek would agree to help her if she offered you the guardian position. He took it so you wouldn't get hurt." Cora gave a small laugh of disbelief, eyes downcast. "I _knew_ it," she said under her breath, something like triumph flashing across her face.

Kara opened her mouth to ask her what the hell she was going on about, but a soft gasp interrupted her. Lydia was gaping at the alpha twins' body. Kara stared too. Because she wasn't just looking at one body—no, there were two identical figures lying on the ground. They had separated themselves. Which meant that—

"They're still alive," Cora breathed. The three girls darted over to the Alpha twins, and Lydia pressed a hand to one of their wrists.

"He has a pulse," she said, looking at Cora and Kara with wide eyes.

Heart pounding, Kara checked the pulse of the other twin. "Him too."

"We need to get help," Cora said urgently.

"From who?" Kara asked. "We can't exactly take them to the hospital."

They were silent for a tense moment, brains whirring until Lydia looked at them with wide eyes. "Deaton," she suggested. Cora and Kara shared a look between them and nodded.

"I'll drive," Kara said as they started lugging the twins towards the door. Thanks to her werewolf strength, Cora dragged Ethan without too much difficulty. It was a different story for Kara and Lydia. They each grabbed either end of Aiden's body, which felt as though it weighed a ton.

"God," Kara panted as she and Lydia hauled him down the stairs. "What does he _eat_?"

Even Cora had a faint sheen of sweat on her face by the time they finally made it to the parking lot. Kara stopped, letting Aiden's feet drop. Lydia gently lowered his head to the ground and rested against the side of the building, her breath coming in uneven pants. It was a good thing Kara had had the sense to park close to the loft. She wasn't sure if she could have carried Aiden much further.

Kara checked her phone and her stomach lurched.

"What is it?" Cora asked warily, seeing Kara's frown as her eyes darted across the screen.

"Scott texted me. He and Deucalion are luring Jennifer to the abandoned distillery. Oh, shit," Kara added. "He doesn't know that Derek is with Jennifer."

And even if Kara texted Scott about it now, there was no guarantee he would see it.

"I have to go to the distillery," she said, messaging him about Derek anyway.

Lydia gaped at her. "Are you crazy? You'll get killed."

"Deucalion wants me in his pack," Kara said, shaking her head. "He won't kill me if he can help it. And Jennifer..."

"Jennifer knows Derek won't help her if she kills you," Cora finished. Kara nodded, slightly jarred by the words. She had been thinking the same thing, but hearing it said out loud...Kara finally realised that to some degree, Derek did care about her. And she knew that it didn't change things between them—not in the way she sometimes caught herself hoping for, at least. But at some point, they had started to trust each other, to see beyond the hard exteriors and carefully constructed walls. They had become more than allies.

It was for that reason that Kara knew she could squash the fear threatening to engulf her and walk into the distillery. She knew if she needed him, Derek would back her. Just as she would always do for him.

"I'm coming with you," Cora announced.

"No. Get the twins to Deaton—he's the only one who might be able to save them." Kara took a deep breath and steeled herself to walk away from them.

"Who will you fight for?" Lydia asked.

Kara stopped in her tracks. "Neither of them. They're both monsters."

"You can't take them both on," Cora pointed out.

Kara sighed. Cora was right, of course. But how could she judge who was worse? Both had taken innocent lives. Both would take _more_ innocent lives. And both posed a threat to people she cared about. Kara had thought before that helping Jennifer to kill Deucalion would be the lesser evil, but she wasn't so sure anymore. How did she know Jennifer would stop committing sacrifices to gain power? The sort of power she had amassed was not easy to let go of.

No. Kara could not take both of them on. But she couldn't bring herself to pick a side, either. _Unless..._

"I might not have to," Kara breathed.

* * *

Kara folded her arms against the chilling wind and winced as her hands stung. She inspected the back of her hands and found a few tiny cuts peppering the skin. It had been from the glass in the loft, Kara realised grimly. She clenched her hands into fists, allowing the slight pain to sharpen her focus. She couldn't afford to be distracted.

The distillery loomed up ahead. Kara spotted it just as a deafening boom echoed throughout the sky. She felt the thunder rumble in her chest and increased her pace. She could feel a number of storms brewing: one in the air around her and one in the abandoned distillery.

Kara had told Cora and Lydia that she refused to fight for Jennifer or Deucalion. She had meant it. Jennifer and Deucalion were enemies—they wouldn't join together to kill her. Kara hoped that meant she could rely on their hate for each other to work in her favour. If one of them killed the other, she would only have to face one monster. She wouldn't have to do it alone, either. Derek and Scott would be there. All she had to do was not give Jennifer or Deucalion a reason to kill her.

And as Kara stepped into the distillery, she knew it would be much easier said than done.

Derek and Jennifer were being held up by their throats, a monster of a man standing in front of them. Deucalion's face was twisted into a dark, nightmarish mask. The face of a ruthless alpha. Red eyes found Kara's gaze, and it was an effort not to shrink back. Deucalion tossed Jennifer and Derek away like ragdolls, and Kara darted over to Derek. She knelt down next to him and took in his wide eyes—his strikingly blue eyes. The eyes of a beta. Of someone who had killed. But Kara knew, of course. She knew that it was a result of Paige's death, the horror he'd had to endure in ending her pain.

"You shouldn't be here," Derek said urgently as she helped him up. Jennifer took a swing at Deucalion, but he easily shoved her away, the movement sending her reeling back. Kara gaped at the scene. She had seen Jennifer take down three alpha werewolves by herself, and now she couldn't even touch Deucalion. There was a faint roaring in Kara's ears. She knew who was going to die first.

Derek let loose a roar and attacked Deucalion from the side. The alpha ducked and used his momentum to hurl Derek into a stack of crates, which sent pieces of wood flying as he smashed into them. Kara could almost taste her fear at that moment. It seared her tongue, burning the inside of her mouth as she stared at where Derek had fallen.

"Scott," she breathed, suddenly noticing the teen standing back from the violence. He locked eyes with her, and she saw her own fear mirrored in his face. Kara moved to be by his side as Deucalion grabbed Jennifer by the throat again and threw her back. She fell onto the hard concrete with a groan, but Deucalion didn't let her recover. He hauled her up with a clawed hand to her neck and shoved her to her knees. Right in front of Scott.

Kara felt the terror of a thousand nightmares as Deucalion said, "Kill her." The alpha stared Scott down, eyes glowing. "Do it."

Scott didn't move. Deucalion let out a thunderous roar that made Scott drop to his knees. Kara saw that his face had transformed when he looked up. Had Deucalion made him do that? Was it some sort of werewolf command?

"Now kill her," Deucalion said with lethal calm. "The parents are dying. That storm you hear? She's burying them alive. It's her connection to the telluric currents—kill her and it ends."

"It won't end," Jennifer spoke up. "Not with me. He'll have you kill everyone you love, it's what he does."

Kara cast a worried glance at Scott, who still knelt on the floor. Conflict flashed over his face. He was faced with the same difficult choice many of them had been forced to make—which monster was worse? But to kill either of them...Scott wasn't like that. Even if it came to monsters.

"They're dying, Scott. Your mother, and the parents of your best friends." Deucalion taunted. "Kill her now and it's over. Become the alpha you were meant to be. Become a _killer._ "

Kara tugged on the power residing inside her as Scott stared at Deucalion with defiance in his eyes. "They're not dead yet."

Deucalion scoffed. "And who's going to save them? Your friends?"

Scott rose from the ground with his chin raised, every bit the alpha he was meant to be. The one who defended the innocent, who protected his friends. The one who refused to become a monster.

"My pack," Scott growled.

Faster than Kara could comprehend, Deucalion had grabbed Scott by the back of the neck and was dragging him over to Jennifer. Kara lurched forward, blood boiling with anger, but Scott shook his head. She paused. Why didn't he want her help?

"Maybe you just need a little guidance," Deucalion ground out as he gripped Scott's wrist. Kara's stomach dropped. Deucalion was going to _force_ him to become a killer.

"I forgot to tell you something. Something that Gerard told me," Scott said, panting. "Deucalion isn't always blind."

The room exploded into light.

Kara stumbled back as everything went white. She blinked furiously, clearing her vision. It took a couple of seconds for her to regain her sight, and then a couple more to realise what had happened. The flash of light—she had seen it before. Scott had used a flash bomb to blind Deucalion. She laid eyes on Deucalion, Scott and Derek, who still hadn't regained their hypersensitive vision. Deucalion was spinning around frantically, swiping his arms around as if to ward off any attacks.

Orange light tinted the room, and with a sick sort of dread, Kara realised that the eclipse had started. Jennifer was nowhere to be seen.

The three werewolves had been stripped of their powers. Gone were their claws and glowing eyes, along with their unseen strength. They had been rendered helpless. Kara couldn't care less about what that meant for Deucalion. But if Jennifer decided to attack Derek or Scott...

 _You might be the only one who can stop her,_ rang Chris' voice in her head. Kara gritted her teeth. In the back of her mind, she had always known it might come down to this.

"Oh no," Scott said when he laid eyes on the empty space where Jennifer had been.

Kara fixed her gaze on the distillery door, carefully watching for any sign of movement. The storm churned up dirt and sand, creating an enormous dust cloud. A figure suddenly appeared through the haze. Jennifer had abandoned the mask that painted her as normal, revealing her true face—slashed and twisted. She swept into the distillery, murder on her monstrous face.

"Scott," Kara said in warning as the Darach headed straight for him. Kara darted in between them without thinking and thrust her hands out, her power launching outwards like a bullet. The impact hit Jennifer squarely, but she merely staggered back before quickly regaining her balance. Too quickly. She snarled and gripped Kara by the throat before she could even blink. Kara clawed at her throat, struggling to breathe. The pressure increased until she was sure she would pass out, but then she was sent flying backwards. Kara landed hard on her side and managed to roll out of the fall. Her breath came in shallow, gasping bursts. Kara watched from the ground as Scott suffered the same fate as her. A bang echoed throughout the distillery when he crashed into a stack of barrels, sending them scattering.

Jennifer moved in a blur of black. She appeared next to Deucalion, who barely had time to cry out before she hurled him across the room. He landed heavily on his back. Jennifer loomed over him, her scarred face twisted with unbridled fury. Was that what Kara had looked like when she was trying to break out of the mountain ash in the bank vault, wanting nothing more than to kill Deucalion?

Nausea rose up in Kara as Jennifer gripped Deucalion's head and rammed it into the ground with terrifying ferocity. She smashed his head over and over until her frenzied shouts of anger drowned out his cries and blood pooled underneath his head.

"Jennifer!" Derek called out suddenly. Kara's head snapped towards the sound of his voice. "He doesn't know," Derek continued.

"Know what?" Jennifer demanded.

"What you really look like. He knows the cost of bringing Kali into his pack, but he's never seen the price you paid."

Kara stared at Derek. What was he doing? Jennifer turned her head to study Deucalion, and Derek caught Kara's gaze. He gave her a pointed look as if to say _trust me._

"No. No, he hasn't," Jennifer agreed. She crouched down next to the demon wolf and placed a hand over his eyes. Deucalion screamed, as if in agony. Jennifer was healing him, Kara realised with horror. She was giving him his sight back. Then abruptly, the screaming stopped. Jennifer pulled her hand away. Deucalion blinked, confused, and his eyes darted around one half of the room. Avoiding Jennifer.

"Turn to me," she demanded. "Turn around!"

Deucalion stared at her with horror in his eyes. Then, with a transformation, so swift Kara swore she could have blinked and missed it, Jennifer had returned to her normal appearance. She raised a hand as if to strike him but faltered, body slumping as she tipped backwards. Kara felt a stab of something unpleasant as Derek caught her.

"What is this?" Jennifer asked breathlessly.

"Healing him made you weak, just like healing Cora did to me. You won't have your strength for at least a few minutes," Derek explained.

"Then you do it," Jennifer said, giving him an encouraging nod. "Kill him."

Kara held her breath. She wanted Deucalion dead. But did she care if she didn't kill him herself? _You just want revenge,_ whispered a cruel voice. _You want him to suffer for what he did to your family._ Kara pushed the thought away. Deucalion deserved to die.

"No."

Jennifer stared at Derek in shock. "What?"

"Like my mother used to say. I'm a predator. I don't have to be a killer." Derek wrapped a hand around Jennifer's throat and bared his teeth at her. "Now let them go."

Jennifer's face filled with rage as she shoved Derek into a pile of crates.

"No!" Kara yelled. She tried to push herself from the ground, but her arms buckled, forcing her to watch as Jennifer struck Derek across the face, over and over. She suddenly stopped, staring at him with a deep sadness. As if she had really cared about him. Shaking her head, Jennifer turned away from him. Towards Deucalion.

Kara wanted to scream at Derek for being an idiot when he rose up, ready to challenge Jennifer again. The Darach paused. And when Derek lunged for her, she was ready. Jennifer grabbed him by his shirt and rammed him back into the crates. He hit them hard, over and over until all Kara could hear were the groans of pain coming from his mouth and her blood roaring in her ears. Fury suddenly flooded her, climbing its way up her throat and begging to be unleashed. No, it wasn't just her anger that wanted to be set free. It was her powers too. So Kara used that desperate need to propel herself off the ground. She thrust out her hands and sent a blast of power towards Jennifer. She was ripped away from Derek and soared through the air, landing hard on her back.

"Don't touch him," Kara snarled as Jennifer took in gasping breaths. Scott's eyes widened, filled with something Kara didn't want to examine too closely. It looked too much like fear.

"You're fifteen minutes are over," Derek told Jennifer. And it was true—his eyes glowed blue. The lunar eclipse had ended. Derek, Scott and Kara all lunged for Jennifer just as she threw a fistful of charcoal powder into the air. It landed in a neat circle around her and Kara stared at it in horror. _Mountain ash._ Something deep inside her recoiled. Deucalion had used it against her—he had trapped her with it, provoking her into almost destroying herself. Without thinking, Kara retreated to Derek's side.

"Like I told you, Derek," Jennifer spat, "either you or the parents. Well, I guess I'll just have to take them now. In a few minutes, they'll be dead, and I won't need a lunar eclipse, even to kill a demon wolf."

"You bitch," Kara seethed. She might have said more, but her attention was caught by Scott. He had raised his hand as if to touch the mountain ash barrier. Panic rose up in Kara and a plea for him to stop died on her lips when he pressed against it. Nothing happened. He put more weight into it, bending his knees.

Jennifer smirked at him. "You've tried this before Scott. I don't remember you having much success."

Scott continued pressing on the barrier despite her words. Kara's panic ebbed as something else took its place—awe. It was _working._ Bluish light appeared beneath his hands as if he were pushing through the mountain ash. As if it were breaking. Scott kept going and the barrier glowed blue where his body made contact with it. Kara's eyes widened. Inch by inch, he seemed to be pushing further into it. Scott's face was contorted with the effort of breaking through the mountain ash. And his eyes...

They had turned a searing red.

Scott took a step into the circle of mountain ash and Jennifer backed away. He took another step forward and the barrier suddenly erupted into blinding light. A wave of power sent Kara stumbling back, but a hand steadied her. Scott had done it—he'd broken the mountain ash.

Kara glanced at Derek and saw her disbelief mirrored on his face. He dropped his hand away from her back. Kara saw with satisfaction that Jennifer had been knocked flat on her ass. She stared up at Scott with real fear in her eyes. "How did you do that?" she gasped.

Scott's voice was hard and unrelenting. "I'm an alpha now. Whatever you're doing to cause the storm, make it stop. Or I'll kill you myself. I don't care what it does to the colour of my eyes."

"It won't change the colour of mine. So, allow me."

Kara whipped around at the sound of Deucalion's voice. She stared in shock as he lunged forward and swiped his claws across Jennifer's throat. Blood sprayed onto the ground. Jennifer's hands reached for her throat and she made an awful gurgling sound. Then her face changed—gone was the mask of the English teacher, and in its place was the scarred and brutalised face Kali had left her with. Jennifer slumped to the floor.

Suddenly it wasn't Jennifer that Kara was seeing on the floor. It was her mother, gaunt and pale and streaked with blood. Left broken by the sickness that had seized her after being bitten by Deucalion. Kara was back in her house, walking into her mother's room and finding her lying on the ground, blood pouring out of the claw marks in her stomach. She had done it to herself. And Ella Grayson had died bleeding out on her carpet with her daughter hunched over her, hands covered in her mother's blood.

Deucalion looked down at the broken form of Jennifer with triumph. Kara stared at him and distantly felt her hands shaking. He had killed Jennifer without blinking. Just as he had bitten Kara's mother and made her life a living hell.

Kara felt a rush of something flood her veins—power, anger or grief, she couldn't really tell. It came from a deep, dark place inside her. It came from a cage locked for years.

Her body acted of its own accord as she raised her palms towards Deucalion.

"Kara, don't!" Derek yelled, but it was too late. She had already sent Deucalion soaring through the air. He crashed into a tin wall with a grunt and slumped to the ground underneath the spiral symbol of revenge carved into the wall. _Fitting,_ Kara thought viciously.

Kara felt her power thrumming beneath the surface of her skin. She didn't have to tug on any threads to pull it out. It rose to meet her, strengthening her muscles and setting each of her nerves alight. It was as though she had finally awoken after a long slumber. She felt strong. She felt _alive._ This what was she had been missing out on for so many years. All those years spent living in fear—fear of her mother, fear _for_ her mother. She wasn't afraid anymore.

Deucalion got to his hands and knees, panting. Kara didn't give him the chance to rise to his feet. She willed her power to grip his throat, and it obeyed. Deucalion let out a choking gasp as he was lifted off his feet and slammed into the wall. Kara felt his skin beneath her palms as if she were physically choking him. His hands clawed at his throat, at the invisible force slowly squeezing his windpipe.

"Why are you doing this?" he wheezed. Anger swelled in Kara's chest. She didn't reply but kept choking him, the supply of her powers a bottomless well.

"I didn't mean to hurt your mother that night," Deucalion gasped. Kara opened her mouth to snarl at him, but he cut her off.

"It was a full moon. I was—I was angry and out of control."

"And you think that makes it okay?" Kara growled, pressing harder on his windpipe. Deucalion made a noise that was halfway between a gasp and a whimper. Triumph raced through Kara's veins.

"I didn't know it was her! I didn't know about—that her powers would reject the bite—"

"Stop lying!" Kara barked, her hands shaking with anger. "You knew it was her. You're a monster—you killed my mother, you only wanted me in your pack so you could use me for my powers—"

"That's not true," Deucalion said, choking on the words. "I wanted you in my pack so I could keep you safe."

Kara stared at him. "Why," she demanded.

Deucalion returned her gaze and was silent for a moment. "Because you are my daughter."

Shock rippled through the air. Kara could feel it like a living thing inside her. She faltered, her powers recoiling. This monster in front of her, the person responsible for the destruction of everything she loved…. It had to be a trick.

"Give me one good reason why I should believe you," Kara snarled, tightening her grip on Deucalion's windpipe once again.

The alpha gasped, his eyes widening. "The birth certificate. That was me."

"Stop. Lying."

"I loved your mother."

"Then why leave her?" Kara demanded, feeling as though she were the one being choked as a lump formed in her throat. Tears burned her eyes. It only made her angrier.

"I thought—I figured you would both be safer without me. I didn't want to bring you any trouble—"

There was a loud bang as Kara drove Deucalion back into the tin wall.

"You destroyed us!" Kara shouted at the Alpha, who slumped to the ground. She willed her powers to wrap around him and she lifted him up, then slammed him against the wall like a ragdoll. He grunted at the impact but could do nothing to escape her power.

"I had to chain my mother up every full moon and listen to her screams as her body fought to keep her from transforming." Again, Kara tossed Deucalion into the wall. This time he left a dent. "She took her own _life_ because she couldn't bear the agony of half-transforming every month." Another moan of pain from Deucalion as his body collided with the wall. "By the time I was sixteen I was working every single day because my mother was too sick to support us. Do you have _any_ idea what that's like? Being fourteen and having to run from your own mother because she tried to claw you to death?"

 _Bang._ Deucalion hit the wall again. "I'm sorry," he gasped, rolling on the floor. Another rush of fury had Kara hauling Deucalion up by his collar. She used her own hands this time to slam him into the ground, feeling power race through her bones. Deucalion's head cracked against the concrete and he let out a whimper. The sound sent triumph spearing through Kara, but it was dulled underneath the storm of her anger. She felt like it was consuming her—every fibre in her body burned with it, with a lifetime's worth of anguish. But Kara didn't want to feel pain right now. No, the fury gave her purpose and she wanted nothing more than to give herself over to it. So, she did.

Kara wrapped her bare hands around Deucalion's throat and squeezed.

"You took _everything_ from me," Kara hissed through gritted teeth. Deucalion could do nothing more than gasp and claw uselessly at her hands. His eyes widened with fear—real, desperate fear. "You broke my mother. But you know what your biggest mistake was?" Kara asked him, leaning closer to his face so that he would have no choice but to look at her. Deucalion's face was turning red. He gaped at her, choking, and his eyes went glassy. He wore the face of a man who knew his fate.

"You didn't break me."

Terror flashed across Deucalion's face. She dug a knee into his arm, pinning it down, and threw her weight into the hands at his throat. His body jerked wildly, but he was too weak to fight back against her. Kara kept gripping his neck, draining the life out of him. _You deserve this you deserve this you deserve this._

"Kara, stop!" Derek's voice rung through the distillery. Kara momentarily faltered. But then Deucalion was thrashing underneath her, sensing weakness, and Kara tightened her grip with a snarl. He couldn't escape this. She wouldn't _let_ him escape this. Not after everything he had done.

"You're not a killer, Kara," Derek tried again. She didn't falter this time.

"You were the one who helped me train for this exact purpose," Kara told Derek through gritted teeth, her eyes never leaving Deucalion's face. "Remember? You told me that I had to make sure I could take him down."

Deucalion gave a choked gasp and his eyes rolled into the back of his head.

"I know," Derek admitted. "But I was wrong. Killing him won't bring you any peace. I know that now."

But Kara kept on squeezing. She didn't care if it made her a monster, if it destroyed her humanity. _You deserve this you deserve this you deserve this._

"I know you have nightmares about being a murderer. Don't become the monster you are in your dreams."

His words triggered a flood of images in Kara's head. Hands slick with blood. A woman wailing. A body on the floor, unmoving. Those were _her_ hands covered in blood. And those were her hands wrapped around the neck of a man, crushing his windpipe until the ability to breathe was stolen from him. Killing him.

The cage inside of her swung shut. Kara jerked back, breathing hard. Deucalion heaved in a huge, rasping breath at losing the pressure on his throat. Kara rose from the floor and backed away as if she would be able to escape what she had nearly done if she moved far away enough. As if she could ever forget…She had come so close to…

Kara's hands shook. She scraped her nails against her palms, trying to clean off the non-existent blood. Something was clawing its way up her throat. Her anger had dissipated and left a gaping hole in her chest—but something was filling it up, swelling in her like a rising tide. Distantly, she knew what it was. She knew it would send her spiralling later. But for now, shock kept it at bay, and all Kara could do was stare and stare as Deucalion struggled to his feet, his breaths laboured. He looked anywhere but at Kara.

Derek surveyed Kara, his eyes searching her face. She couldn't look at him—couldn't face him. He made to take a step towards her but then hesitated, seeming to think better of it. He instead turned his attention to Deucalion, whose face was drawn with defeat.

"My mother said you were a man of vision once," Derek said, his voice hard as steel. He shared a look with Scott and some unspoken agreement seemed to pass between them. "We're letting you go because we hope you can be that man," he continued. Deucalion frowned at his words. Dull surprise registered beneath Kara's numb haze.

"But if you're not," Scott said, his voice dangerously quiet, "then it won't matter if you have your eyesight back. Because you'll never see us coming."

Scott and Derek stepped apart from each other, leaving a gap for Deucalion to walk through. They were letting him go, just like that.

"Wait," Kara blurted. Deucalion slowly turned to face her, as if it pained him to look at her. And of course, it would, after—

"I started getting phone calls from an unknown caller after my mother died," Kara said, pushing away her thoughts. The numbness was starting to ebb away, and something sharp and twisted was taking its place. How long had her heart been racing for? When had her hands started shaking? The last thing she remembered doing with them was squeezing Deucalion's neck, watching him stumble towards death…

 _Just keep it together for one more minute,_ some rational part of her brain commanded. _Just until you're alone._

Kara forced herself to form the words. "The caller told me to move to Beacon Hills. They also tried to kidnap me. Was it you?"

For some strange reason, when Deucalion silently shook his head, Kara believed him. He gained nothing by lying. He was broken, beaten. And with a devastating blow that knocked the breath out of her, Kara realised that she was too.

Deucalion left without a word. Kara watched him go without really seeing, her mind blank. She suddenly wondered how she didn't realise her heart was racing before—the thud of her heartbeat was all she could hear now, like a warning drum. Suddenly her legs were moving, backing her against a wall. Was it really her own body that had moved her? Kara barely felt the wall against her body as she slid down it and sat with her knees drawn to her chest. She didn't register Derek's look of alarm, or how he leant closer to Scott to whisper something. She didn't even see Scott leave, or comprehend that Derek was approaching her. She wouldn't have even known she was breathing if it weren't for the fact that her chest was rising and falling.

Derek sat down next to her. Kara's eyes burned with a thousand nights of heartache. They sat in silence for an immeasurable stretch of time. It could have been seconds, it could have been hours. Everything felt wrong.

"I stopped asking about him when I was nine," she finally said, swallowing hard. She felt like the words would eat her alive if she didn't release them. "My mother refused to talk about him. Said we were better off without him. But all those years of caring for her by myself, of sacrificing everything to keep her alive—Deucalion never acknowledged us. Never even bothered to check that his daughter was still…oh my god, I'm his _daughter_ , I'm like him—"

"You're nothing like him," Derek said quickly. "Kara, you're _good_."

"I nearly killed him," Kara forced the words out like they were poison. Derek looked stricken. "How does that make me good?" she demanded, voice breaking. "How? How am I supposed to live with this—this murderous _thing_ inside of me?"

"Hey. _Hey_." Derek took her face in his hands, forcing her to look at him. "Deucalion deserved to die for what he did to you. But you didn't kill him. You aren't a monster."

Kara turned her face away, furious at herself for the tears welling in her eyes. She hated for Derek to see her so out of control. But her panic had caught her off guard. It was so different from the fury she had revelled in only moments ago. No words would form without triggering an emotional landslide, so she tried to at least slow her breathing. She needed some semblance of control. But something was clawing at her insides, some monstrous beast tearing into her with a relentless hunger. Her chest caved in from the pressure, lungs shrinking. And oh god, she couldn't _breathe_ —

Kara pressed a hand against her mouth to stifle a sob. Derek rubbed comforting circles on her back, but Kara shook her head. He didn't understand. He didn't know the truth.

Kara took in a deep, shuddering breath in an attempt to keep the tears at bay. "I'm not who you think I am. I'm not _good_."

"What are you talking—?"

"I burnt the house down." The tears flowed freely now. "I didn't know what else to do. I burnt it down with my mother still inside—I didn't even bury her. I just ran. And the worst part is that when she died…. I was relieved. Because it meant I was free."

Kara dissolved into sobs, her shoulders heaving. It was the horrible, ugly truth she had never dared to speak aloud. Until now. She expected Derek to recoil from her, to leave. Instead, he tucked her against his side, running a hand over her hair and murmuring words of comfort as she cried. Kara buried her face against his shoulder and gripped a fistful of his shirt, as if she would lose herself if she didn't hang on to something. A part of her felt like she already had.

* * *

"I'm not sure why you asked me to help you pack," Kara said, sitting on the end of Cora's bed. "You have, like, zero clothes."

Kara ducked as one of Cora's few shirts sailed towards her head.

"You're one to talk—you only own three tops," Cora said indignantly.

Kara raised an eyebrow. "Four, actually."

They stared at each other for a moment longer before dissolving into laughter. It felt good to joke around. Kara couldn't remember the last time she'd felt this content. Still, the moment was bittersweet. Cora and Derek would leave for South America in little under an hour.

"You missed a sock," Kara said, distracting herself from her thoughts. She chucked the lone sock to Cora, who placed it in her duffel bag.

"You better buy more clothes while I'm away. And learn how to kick properly," Cora added with a smirk. Kara smiled, but it felt forced. When Derek had told her that he was taking Cora to South America, she had gotten the sense that it would be a permanent move. She doubted Cora would be coming back. It had come as a surprise to Kara—the trip had been planned a mere day after the fight at the distillery.

Kara resisted the urge to shudder at the thought of that night. She still caught herself thinking about her hands gripping Deucalion's throat. She hated how easy it was for her to become blinded by her fury. And how hard it was to pull away. She had been worried that Derek would look at her differently after witnessing her almost kill Deucalion and spiral into hysterics afterwards. And something _had_ changed, but it didn't make her burn with shame. There was a certain ease to their conversations and even in the silences between them, as though it were enough just to be together. They had witnessed each other at their most vulnerable states, and neither of them had run. It was more than what Kara had ever expected to come out of their alliance. Their friendship, rather. _But less than what you want,_ a small voice reminded her. Kara pushed the thought away. It didn't matter what she wanted. Derek was leaving. They would go their separate ways and start new lives.

Cora zipped up her duffel bag and rose from her bed. "I should go soon."

"I still can't believe Peter is coming with you," Kara said, brows furrowed with disapproval. Cora rolled her eyes in agreement.

"Yeah, I know. I have no idea how I'm going to survive the trip with him."

"Thanks for getting him out of my hair, though," Kara grinned. "I can't deal with him hanging around the loft. He's like a bad smell."

"So, you're going to stay here for a while, then?" Cora asked, face softening.

Kara sighed. "Yeah. Until I get a job, and my own place. Hopefully sooner rather than later."

"You know you can stay here as long as you need," Cora reminded her.

"Last time I checked, Derek owned this place."

Cora rolled her eyes. "I'm sure he agrees with me."

And she was right, but Kara wasn't about to admit that to her. Derek had told her as much the previous night.

"You better call me at least once a month," Kara told Cora sternly.

"Okay, _mum_."

Kara snorted and pulled the girl in for a hug. It was new to both of them, Kara knew. They had gone for so long without close friendships that it felt strange to be embraced by someone.

"I'll miss you," Cora admitted, surprising Kara. A lump formed in her throat.

"I'll miss you too."

Kara pulled away as Derek appeared in the doorway, a faint smile on his face. Cora's eyes flickered between them. "I'll wait in the car," she announced, sending a pointed look at Kara. She raised her eyebrows, but Cora merely winked at her and disappeared.

If Derek noticed the exchange, he said nothing. Feeling as though there was an unbearable distance between them, Kara stepped closer. It was an effort to keep from staring at him. She wished she were an artist, skilled enough to draw his face from memory so that she would have something to remember him by. Not that he would be easy to forget. _A photo,_ Kara thought with a sudden pang. She didn't even have a photo of Derek or Cora. No evidence they had ever been in her life. But wouldn't that just make it harder to move on?

Kara's eyes landed on the duffel bag by Derek's side, a sharp reminder that he was leaving soon. This would be the last conversation between them for a while, if not forever. Especially after what she would tell him.

"South America, huh?" Kara asked Derek with a slight smile, hoping it would hide the ache residing within her. She always felt as though he could see right through her.

"There's a pack there that kept Cora safe after the fire. I'm hoping they'll do the same now," Derek replied. Kara's heart squeezed at the tenderness in his voice. He just got Cora back, and Kara knew that after everything that had happened with the Alpha Pack and Darach he was determined to keep his sister out of harm's way.

"What about you? Will you join a pack?" Kara asked quietly.

Faint surprise crossed Derek's face. "I'm not sure. I haven't really thought about it," he admitted.

"Do me a favour," Kara began, pushing past the ache in her chest. "If you find somewhere out there where you're safe, where you don't have to deal with any of this supernatural crap, then stay there. Don't come back to Beacon Hills." The words tasted like acid in her mouth.

Derek's brows furrowed. "Why?"

"Because…" Kara trailed off, swallowing. She mustered up her courage and stepped closer to him, staring at him right in the eyes. She could give him this. "Because you deserve more. You deserve to be happy, Derek. And from what I can tell, Beacon Hills has brought you nothing but misery."

"That's not entirely true," Derek murmured. "Beacon Hills brought me you."

Before she knew what she was doing, Kara wound her arms around Derek's middle. He tensed and Kara worried that she had crossed an unspoken boundary, but a moment later he tentatively wrapped his arms around her, pressing her closer. There was a faint thud beneath where her cheek rested against his chest. It was his heart, beating as wildly as her own. Kara closed her eyes. She wished this could last forever. Two days ago, she would have never dared to hug him like this. But too much had happened between them for Kara to pretend that nothing had changed since then. Even if it meant that somewhere, in some small, hidden part of her, hope had begun to bloom. New meaning had sprouted behind every single action and gesture, a sudden depth to words. But she was done with that now. Kara had stamped out that poisonous hope the second she found out he was leaving for South America.

She pulled away from him and quickly realised that she'd done a shoddy job of squashing her hope. They remained inches away, close enough that Kara could see the flecks of deep green in his eyes and the faint crease between his brows. He frowned too much, always with the weight of the world on his shoulders. She'd give anything to see smiles come easily to him. And yet, there was a light in his eyes as they stood before each other, unspeaking. Like he was seeing something, or realising something, for the first time. His eyes flickered down to her lips. A shiver ran down Kara's spine as he reached up and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear, his fingertips lingering on her jaw. It would be so easy, she thought as Derek leaned in. It would be so easy to give in and be selfish, to forget what came after—

Kara turned her face away. She couldn't let herself forget. They'd kiss, and then what? Never see each other again? Derek would never give up the chance to spend time with his remaining family, and Kara would never ask him to. She wanted to kiss him so badly her heart ached, but not like this. She couldn't do that to herself—or Derek. She couldn't give him a reason to come back to Beacon Hills.

A heavy silence hung over them. Derek's arms were limp at his sides. He frowned like he was searching for something to say. Kara's nerves felt frayed, as if she had come close to stumbling off a cliff. She floundered for something to say, to cut through the awkwardness and return to their usual banter.

"I'm surprised Cora hasn't come running back to tell you to hurry up," Kara teased. Derek huffed a laugh, but it fell flat, like he was still reeling over what had just happened. His face softened slightly as he said, "You can always come with us, you know. The offer is still there."

Kara felt a pang of longing, even though it wasn't the first time she had heard the offer. The temptation to leave with them was almost unbearable.

"I would, but…" she trailed off.

"You have unfinished business here," Derek said with a rueful smile, repeating her answer from the previous night. Kara nodded, an apologetic expression on her face. Derek picked up his bag and glanced over his shoulder.

"I should go," he told her.

"Yeah," Kara said lamely. A million words burned on the tip of her tongue as Derek gave her one last smile before starting for the door.

"Derek," she said, and he turned back to her. _Stay. Come back to Beacon Hills. Don't forget about me._ "Thank you—for everything."

The corner of his mouth tipped up into a surprised smile. He lingered in the doorway, hesitating. Yet again, it looked as though he was searching for the right words to say. What had changed to make him suddenly so thoughtful about what came out of his mouth? He had never seemed to be so concerned about it before.

"I hope you find what you're looking for," was what he settled for. And then, with terrible abruptness, he was gone.

The realisation that she was alone felt like a weight in Kara's heart. Already, she could feel the absence of the Hales, and it occurred to her that she hadn't known how accustomed she'd become to their presence until they were gone. It was like before—like she was still stuck in her hometown, too scared that someone would find out her secret to get close to anyone. _It's nothing like before_ , Kara reminded herself. _You're free._ She could finally get a job and save and travel. She could meet new people and ease the loneliness that had plagued her for so long. But there was still a bitter part of her that insisted she had just lost something she would never find again—at least, not like that.

Even as a deep ache threatened to engulf her, she resolved to let Derek go. He deserved to be safe, to live a life full of happiness without the burden of protecting Beacon Hills weighing on him. He deserved more than he had been given. Kara deserved that too—Beacon Hills had allowed her to get answers to questions that had haunted her for years, and she wasn't about to walk away from it. She would let Derek go because she couldn't discover who she was if she was pouring herself into someone else. Now that her entire existence no longer revolved around justice for her past, Kara had to focus on her future. She needed to figure out her place in the supernatural world.

And Kara would do everything in her power to make that happen.

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **That's a wrap on Season 3A! Hope you enjoyed this (long-awaited) chapter. I have plenty planned for Kara's story so keep watching out for more updates. As always, reviews are greatly appreciated. Let me know what you think!**


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